Assen DTM: Wittmann sees off Audi threat in wet race
Marco Wittmann defeated Audi drivers Rene Rast and Nico Muller to take victory for BMW in a drenched Assen DTM opener.
Wittmann had taken pole for the race in the morning but came under immediate pressure from Rast in the race when the safety car-led first three laps ended.
The BMW driver held off Rast through the slow first sector, taking in the Haarbocht right-hander through to the De Strubben hairpin exit, before the battle came to a close when R-Motorsport driver Daniel Juncadella stopped his Aston Martin Vantage at the side of the track.
Following the safety car called to retrieve the Aston, Wittmann made a superb restart to pull a gap of over a second to Rast's Audi, and his victory hopes were given a boost when Rast ran slightly wide over the exit of the Geert Timmer Bocht chicane.
Wittmann would again come under threat, but not until the pitstop window, and it would be Muller who would prove to be a thorn in the side of the BMW driver.
Muller, the second-highest Audi driver in the standings, could only qualify sixth but climbed the order in the opening stint after overcoming Timo Glock in a tight battle that led to the BMW driver skating over the gravel at the De Strubben Hairpin.
Muller then made further progress by dispatching Pietro Fittipaldi and Loic Duval and extended his first stint right up until the 26th lap, pitting to emerge ahead of Wittmann and Rast, boosted by the pair reigniting their scrap after both drivers made their mandatory stop.
But in the torrential conditions, the outlap was made all the more challenging, and now second-placed Wittmann was able to make up a deficit of several seconds to get by before the run to the Meeuwenmeer kink and return to the lead.
Muller was able to get his tyres up to temperature before Rast could pass him and held onto second at the flag, making it two Audis on the podium.
BMW's Philipp Eng was fourth after defeating Glock late on, with the ex-Formula 1 driver battling his way back through the field after his early mistake and pulled off a stunning move around the outside of Eng earlier in the race.
WRT Audi's Jonathan Aberdein was compromised by the red flag caused by Jake Dennis in qualifying, but climbed from 10th on the grid to take sixth in the race as teammate Pietro Fittipaldi struggled in the conditions and slipped from fourth to 11th.
Jamie Green was another to rise through the field and took seventh ahead of Duval, who had impressed by qualifying third.
Mike Rockenfeller was ninth for Audi, while Sheldon van der Linde recovered to 10th after being punted into a spin at the De Strubben hairpin by BMW stablemate Bruno Spengler.
Spengler served a drive-through penalty that meant he could only finish 15th.
Local driver Robin Frijns endured a nightmare race that began with a start at the back of the field due to necessary repairs to rectify an oil pressure problem.
He climbed into the top 10 but spun off into the barriers backwards after running over a kerb, damaging the rear of the car and retiring.
Dennis was the leading R-Motorsport driver and finished 12th for the Aston Martin team ahead of Ferdinand Habsburg and Paul di Resta, who narrowly missed colliding with a hare during the race.
Session results
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 |  Marco Wittmann | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'15.672 | |
| 2 | 51 |  Nico Müller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'18.809 | 3.137 |
| 3 | 33 | René Rast | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'23.766 | 8.094 |
| 4 | 25 |  Philipp Eng | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'40.985 | 25.313 |
| 5 | 16 | Timo Glock | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'41.206 | 25.534 |
| 6 | 27 |  Jonathan Aberdein | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'43.559 | 27.887 |
| 7 | 53 |  Jamie Green | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'51.750 | 36.078 |
| 8 | 28 |  Loic Duval | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'58.168 | 42.496 |
| 9 | 99 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'59.328 | 43.656 |
| 10 | 31 | Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:01'59.856 | 44.184 |
| 11 | 21 |  Pietro Fittipaldi | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:02'00.834 | 45.162 |
| 12 | 76 | Jake Dennis | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 31 | 1:02'01.541 | 45.869 |
| 13 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 31 | 1:02'03.766 | 48.094 |
| 14 | 3 | Paul di Resta | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 31 | 1:02'04.589 | 48.917 |
| 15 | 7 |  Bruno Spengler | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:02'09.050 | 53.378 |
| 16 | 47 |  Joel Eriksson | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 31 | 1:02'16.869 | 1'01.197 |
| 4 |  Robin Frijns | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 21 | 44'39.317 | 10 Laps | |
| 23 |  Daniel Juncadella | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 3 | 8'56.527 | 28 Laps | |
| View full results | ||||||
Previous article
Assen DTM: Wittmann beats Rast to Saturday pole
Next article
Rast couldn't afford "crazy risks" in Wittmann battle
About this article
| Series | DTM |
| Event | Assen |
| Sub-event | Race 1 |
| Drivers | Nico Müller , René Rast , Marco Wittmann |
| Author | Tom Errington |
WRT Team Audi Sport – 2020 DTM Season Review
DTM 2020: Audi bids farewell
DTM: Hockenheim - Race 2 Highlights
DTM 2020: Race 1 highlights – Hockenheim
DTM: Hockenheim - Race 1 Highlights
The slow-burner threatening to unseat Audi's DTM king
It's taken him a while to emerge as a consistent title challenger, but in the final year of DTM's Class One ruleset, Nico Muller has smoothed the rough edges and has double champion stablemate Rene Rast working harder than ever to keep up in the title race.
Does 2000 hold the answers to the DTM's current crisis?
It's 20 years since the DTM roared back into life at a packed Hockenheim with a back-to-basics approach as the antidote to its high-tech past. Now it's on its knees again, so is it time to recall the lessons learned in 2000?
Ranking the 10 best Audi DTM drivers
Audi last week announced it would be exiting the DTM at the end of 2020, bringing the curtain down on 20 years of continuous participation since the series' reboot in 2000.
Why the DTM must reinvent itself after Audi exit
Audi's announcement that it will withdraw from the DTM at the end of 2020 was the latest blow for a series that has lost three manufacturers in as many years. Some major soul-searching will now be required to assess how it can survive.
Why cynic Berger changed his mind over green tech in racing
DTM boss Gerhard Berger was a detractor of Formula E and held a reluctance for his series to embrace greener engine technologies. However, this cynic's tune has had to change to ensure DTM's existence as the motorsport world moves forward
What the fallout from Aston's engine split means for 2020
Aston Martin's DTM arrival, via the R-Motorsport outfit, was heralded as a salvation of sorts for the series. After plenty of bumps in the road in 2019, the team finds itself in a similar position to the one it was in 12 months ago. Can it get its act together?
How the DTM and Super GT can build on their experiment
The Class One 'Dream Race' staged by the DTM and SUPER GT proved a hit - from a competitive and collaborative standpoint. The next step will be for both parties to ensure a successful trial ends up being more than just that.
Robot pitcrews and hydrogen – is DTM's concept plausible?
DTM organiser ITR has mooted a radical plan for a "truly new and inspiring" future motorsport series. How realistic are its suggestions of automated pitstops and 1000bhp hydrogen-fuelled touring cars?
