After taking the manufacturers’ title, Audi locks out DTM drivers’ championship with RS 5 DTM racecars

THREE top Audi Sport team drivers aboard Audi RS 5 DTM race cars will decide the 2020 DTM drivers’ title among themselves after they have secured a 1-2-3 finish at the prestigious German touring car competition round in Zolder, Belgium, held October 10. Audi also won the second DTM race in Zolder the following day.

Besides its involvement in numerous international, top- level motorsports series, Audi Sport, the high-performance division of Audi AG, also develops road cars under the RS model range.

The Saturday race in Zolder saw Audi drivers Rene Rast, Robin Frijns and Nico Muller sweeping the podium. Two-time DTM champion Rast, driving for Audi Sport Team Rosberg, also topped the race on Sunday. All three drivers are in contention to take the drivers’ championship with four more races left in the 2020 DTM season.

On Sept. 20, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline already sealed the DTM manufacturers’ crown—at the time with six races still to go in the calendar. This means Audi has now won 12 drivers’ titles and four overall championships in the DTM, after also taking the crown in 2004, 2017 and 2019.

“Having all championship titles in your pocket so early in the season is extraordinary,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dieter Gass. “I don’t believe that this has ever happened before in the DTM. It shows how unbelievable the 2020 season is for Audi.”

Rast took pole position in the Saturday race in Zolder, marking the 20th time an Audi RS 5 DTM started from the best place on the grid. From there, Rast delivered a commanding lights-to-flag victory, even clinching fastest-lap honors in the process.

Sunday’s race proved to be tougher for Rast as flames burst from the engine compartment of his car just as the race was about to start. Still, he managed to lead starting from the first corner of the opening lap, and continued on to take the checkered flag.

With double wins in Zolder, Rast now has 249 points, moving closer to Muller’s haul in the drivers’ championship standing. Muller, driving for Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, currently leads with 259 points and five victories in the season. His teammate Frijns has 243 points, placing him a close third to Rast’s second-spot standing. Mike Rockenfeller from Audi Sport Team Phoenix, who finished second in Sunday’s race in Zolder, lies a distant fourth in the drivers’ title chase with 109 points.

The 2020 DTM championship remains for two more races in Zolder, scheduled on Oct. 16-18, before holding the last two rounds in Hockenheim, Germany, on Nov. 6-8.