Dieter Gass: “The rivalry between Rast and Müller is positive”

Audi drivers René Rast and Nico Müller are heading the battle for the 2019 DTM title as the season enters its final leg, with the seventh round of the year this weekend at the Lausitzring. Audi Motorsport boss Dieter Gass believes the fight actually is good for the team.

“I think it affects the team dynamics only in a positive way. We have two contenders who are having a very strong season,” said Gass.

“I’m happy for them to be racing, but we have to race with our brain switched on, which means basically not playing different strategies against each other and, if one recognises the other is quicker, then letting him go and not fighting, we don’t want to harm each other’s race.”

Rast is currently heading the standings on 206 points, with Müller 37 points behind. Next up is BMW Motorsport’s Marco Wittmann, albeit with a 59-point deficit.

Questioned about his concerns over his Bavarian rivals being able to focus their efforts on one driver, Gass said:

“For us it’s very comfortable to have two guys up there, especially in a season where, contrary to the past, the reliability is not a given, as we come from a situation when you didn’t even think about reliability and just knew the cars would come to the end unless they had a crash. Now we are not in the same comfort zone, reliability could still strike, so it’s better to have two guys up there who can win,” said Gass.

Audi leads the manufacturers’ championship on 710 points, with an ample 284-point margin over BMW Motorsport. Scoring just 20 more points than BMW this weekend would hand Audi the title.

“Traditionally, the drivers’ title has the highest value in the DTM,” added Dieter Gass. “But the manufacturers’ title is very valuable, too. It’s a strong indicator for the work of the entire squad and also for who has the best car. We’ve been very happy so far with the performance of our Audi RS 5 DTM and the new two-litre four-cylinder turbo engine.”