René Rast at a loss over lack of performance at Assen

Audi Sport Team Rosberg driver René Rast had a difficult day on Saturday at Assen, only managing to finish fifth after a race marred with tyre management problems.

Rast had issues during the qualifying session, with his last and best lap deleted after he left the track twice, meaning he had to start the race from sixth on the grid.

The reigning DTM champion had a good start however, and climbed up to third place in the initial stages of the race.

“I had a decent first lap,” said Rast after the race. “Everything was running smooth and I had really good pace in the first stint.”

Rast and Team Abt Sportsline’s Nico Müller went to the pits to change tyres at the same time on lap 17, with the Swiss driver able to re-join the track ahead. But that wouldn’t be the end of the problems for the reigning champion.

“In the second stint I was just trying to manage the tyres but I had nothing at the end,” added Rast. “So it’s really difficult to understand what happened today, so it’s been a bit of a roller coaster.”

Rast finished fifth, two places behind Müller, and has again lost ground in the championship, falling to third place in the standings behind Robin Frijns and trailing Müller by 42 points.