Audi clinches DTM manufacturers’ crown—with 6 races still left in the season

Audi has already secured the manufacturers’ championship title in the DTM with six races still to go before the season ends. 

Advertisement

Taking the crown via a 1-2-3 victory at the recent leg at the Nurburgring, Audi’s title comes during the 12th round of the season, with three championship contenders dominating the race—Nico Muller and Robin Frijns of Audi Sport Team ABT Sportsline, and Rene Rast of Audi Sport Team Rosberg. 

Frijns recorded the fastest time in all three sectors during the qualifying session in Nurburgring—a rarity in the DTM—in the process clinching his fifth pole position in the series, as well as the 19th-consecutive for Audi. But during the race, it was Muller who proved to be faster as he used DRS and Push-to-Pass on lap seven to overtake Frijns. From that point on, Muller continued to pull away and eventually built an 11.8-second lead over Frijns, and 19.5 seconds over Rast, at the end of the race.

The victory was Muller’s fifth for the season. 

While commending Audi Sport Team ABT Sportsline for its dominance over the weekend, Rast vowed Audi Sport Team Rosberg will continue to mount its challenge in the remaining six races.

Another Audi entry—Ferdinand Habsburg of customer team WRT Team Audi Sport—performed well in Nurburgring by finishing in sixth place. Habsburg claimed second in qualifying and so sat alongside Frijns on the starting grid. 

Meanwhile, Audi Sport Team Phoenix also scored points with both its drivers; Mike Rockenfeller finished seventh and Loic Duval ended in ninth. 

 The next four DTM races will be held in Zolder, Belgium, on October 9-11 and on October 16-18. The last two rounds are scheduled in Hockenheim, Germany on November 6-8.