2017 Spielberg Race 2

2017 Spielberg Race 2
The Red Bull Ring in 2017
Race Information
Date	24 September 2017
No.	211
Event	DTM Spielberg 2017
Location	Red Bull Ring Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Format	55 min + 1 Lap
Lap length	4.326 km (2.688 mi)
Distance	39 laps / 168.714 km (104.834 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Jamie Green
Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	1:21.955
Fastest Lap
Driver	Jamie Green
Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	1:23.474 on lap 8
Race Result
First	Second	Third
René Rast	Mike Rockenfeller	Nico Müller
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	57:21.893
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2017 Spielberg Race 1		2017 Hockenheim Finale Race 1

The 2017 Spielberg Race 2, otherwise known as the DTM Spielberg 2017 Race 2, was the sixteenth race of the 2017 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria, on 24 September 2017. The race would see René Rast sweep to his third win of the campaign, albeit after Jamie Green was robbed of a dominant victory by a late gearbox failure.

Ahead of the race there would be more discussion about the ballast system, with Marco Wittmann declaring that its abolition ahead of the race weekend had ruined an "exciting championship". Indeed, Wittmann believed that the late change to the regulations had effectively handed the Championship to Audi, particularly after the marque had dominated the Saturday Race.

Qualifying for the second battle of Spielberg would seem to appease that belief, as Green beat Rast to pole for the Ingolstadt based manufacturer. Indeed, Wittmann was the lone interloper in a top five dominate by Audi, securing third ahead of Mike Rockenfeller and Nico Müller, while Gary Paffett was the best of the Mercedes in sixth.

The start of the race would see Green charge into the lead ahead of Rast, while Wittmann led the chase from third. The rest of the field would make it through the first corner without issue, with Championship leader Mattias Ekström and Augusto Farfus taking their mandated stops at the end of the opening tour.

The early laps would see Rockenfeller elbow his way past Wittmann, prompting the #11 BMW to stop at the end of lap nine. He duly rejoined ahead of Ekström but with cold tyres, although the defending Champion would manage to swat aside the Swede's attempts to overtake and seize the initiative.

Out front, meanwhile, Green and Rast would make their stops and rejoin ahead of Wittmann, with Rockenfeller and Müller stopping soon after. The latter duo rejoined either side of Wittmann and ahead of Ekström, although a lock-up from Rockenfeller at turn two on cold tyres would allow all three to pass him.

Müller went on to harass Wittmann for de facto third place behind Green and Rast, eventually forcing his way past on lap 22. The Swiss racer then backed Wittmann up to allow teammate Ekström to attack the #11 BMW, although that only allowed Rockenfeller to pass the Swede.

That fight was then put on pause due to a Safety Car, called upon when Bruno Spengler smacked Lucas Auer out of the race on lap 29. The race would resume three laps later with ten minutes to go, with Green easing away from Rast, while Rockenfeller stormed past Wittmann for fourth behind Müller. Ekström also managed to elbow his way past Wittmann, but would be instructed to hand back the position for running the German off-track, although both he and the German would be passed by Gary Paffett soon after.

Into the closing stages and the race seemed to be over, with Green having pulled clear from Rast, while Rockenfeller was fighting with Müller. However, with two minutes to go Green dramatically slowed with a gearbox failure, allowing the entire field to go thundering past the #53 Audi and effectively ending his title hopes.

With that the race was run, with Rast sweeping to victory ahead of Müller, while Rockenfeller completed the podium. Paffett was next up ahead of Ekström, who moved back past Wittmann late on, while Timo Glock, Loïc Duval, Paul di Resta and Robert Wickens completed the scorers.

Background

A first victory of the season for Mattias Ekström enhanced the Swede's Championship lead to 28 points, making him the favourite for the crown with three races to go. Jamie Green, meanwhile, had moved into second with 134 points, while Lucas Auer had dropped to third on 131. Marco Wittmann was still in the hunt in fourth on 125 points, while René Rast had dropped to fifth with 124.

In the Teams' Championship Audi Team Rosberg still headed the charge on 258 points, although sister team Audi Team Abt had closed the gap to 30 points. Behind, Mercedes-AMG Me had moved into third ahead of BMW Team RBM, while Mercedes-AMG BWT completed the top five. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had moved closer to the title with 620 points, and hence opened out a 104 point lead.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2017 Spielberg Race 2 is displayed below:

2017 Spielberg Race 2 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine
2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Me	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes-AMG SILBERPFEIL Energy	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
6	Robert Wickens	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Me	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
15	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
33	René Rast	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 DTM	P66/1 4.0l V8
48	Edoardo Mortara	Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
51	Nico Müller	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
53	Jamie Green	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
63	Maro Engel	Mercedes-AMG SILBERPFEIL Energy	Mercedes	AMG C63 DTM	AMG 4.0l V8
77	Loïc Duval	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 DTM	Audi 4.0l V8
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2017 Spielberg Race 2 are outlined below:

2017 Spielberg Race 2 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:21.955	—	189.674 km/h	1
2nd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:22.010	+0.055s	189.547 km/h	2
3rd	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:22.156	+0.201s	189.210 km/h	3
4th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:22.206	+0.251s	189.095 km/h	4
5th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	1:22.206	+0.251s	189.095 km/h	5
6th	2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes-AMG Me	1:22.243	+0.288s	189.010 km/h	6
7th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	1:22.268	+0.313s	188.953 km/h	7
8th	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	1:22.337	+0.382s	188.794 km/h	8
9th	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RMR	1:22.390	+0.435s	188.673 km/h	9
10th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RBM	1:22.400	+0.445s	188.650 km/h	10
11th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RBM	1:22.405	+0.450s	188.639 km/h	11
12th	15	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RMG	1:22.429	+0.474s	188.584 km/h	12
13th	3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	1:22.454	+0.499s	188.526 km/h	13
14th	48	Edoardo Mortara	Mercedes-AMG BWT	1:22.497	+0.542s	188.428 km/h	14
15th	63	Maro Engel	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	1:22.526	+0.571s	188.362 km/h	15
16th	6	Robert Wickens	Mercedes-AMG Me	1:22.527	+0.572s	188.360 km/h	16
17th	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes-AMG BWT	1:22.682	+0.727s	188.007 km/h	17
EXC*	77	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:22.629		188.127 km/h	18
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Duval was excluded from the results of qualifying after his team broke Parc Fermé regulations to change a bonnet bracket.

Grid

	Pos.	Pos.
	Driver	Driver
		______________
Row 1	______________	1
	2	Jamie Green
	René Rast	______________
Row 2	______________	3
	4	Marco Wittmann
	Mike Rockenfeller	______________
Row 3	______________	5
	6	Nico Müller
	Gary Paffett	______________
Row 4	______________	7
	8	Timo Glock
	Mattias Ekström	______________
Row 5	______________	9
	10	Tom Blomqvist
	Bruno Spengler	______________
Row 6	______________	11
	12	Maxime Martin
	Augusto Farfus	______________
Row 7	______________	13
	14	Paul di Resta
	Edoardo Mortara	______________
Row 8	______________	15
	16	Maro Engel
	Robert Wickens	______________
Row 9	______________	17
	18	Lucas Auer
	Loïc Duval	______________

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2017 Spielberg Race 2 is displayed below:

2017 Spielberg Race 2 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	39	57:21.893	1:23.534	252
2nd	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	39	+1.025s	1:23.818	18
3rd	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	39	+1.824s	1:23.566	15
4th	2	Gary Paffett	Mercedes-AMG Me	39	+3.741s	1:24.000	12
5th	5	Mattias Ekström	Audi Team Abt	39	+6.136s	1:23.767	10
6th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	39	+7.968s	1:23.970	81
7th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	39	+8.181s	1:23.948	6
8th	77	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	39	+8.457s	1:23.956	4
9th	3	Paul di Resta	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	39	+9.328s	1:23.657	2
10th	6	Robert Wickens	Mercedes-AMG Me	39	+11.305s	1:24.157	1
11th	36	Maxime Martin	BMW Team RBM	39	+12.126s	1:24.041
12th	15	Augusto Farfus	BMW Team RMG	39	+12.696s	1:24.073
13th	31	Tom Blomqvist	BMW Team RMR	39	+14.745s	1:23.937
14th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	39	+16.754s	1:23.474	3
15th	63	Maro Engel	Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil	39	+27.255s	1:24.188
16th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RBM	39	+28.571s	1:24.218
17th*	48	Edoardo Mortara	Mercedes-AMG BWT	32	Retired	1:24.537
Ret	22	Lucas Auer	Mercedes-AMG BWT	28	Collision	1:24.051
Source:

• ³ Indicates a driver was awarded points for qualifying in the top three.
• Bold indicates a driver started from pole.
• Italics indicate that a driver set fastest lap.
• * Mortara was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 75% of the race distance.

Milestones

• Third career victory for René Rast.

Standings

Mattias Ekström would head to the season finale in Hockenheim with the lead in the Championship, holding a 21 point lead. His closest challenger would be René Rast ahead of the first Hockenheim race, with victory for Ekström in the opening battle of Hockenheim enough to see him lift the crown with a race to spare. Rast, meanwhile, would have to prevent the Swede from outscoring him by seven points at the first race in Hockenheim, while Jamie Green, Mike Rockenfeller, Marco Wittmann and Lucas Auer were in mathematically in the hunt but would have to have two perfect races in Hockenheim to challenge.

In the Teams' Championship it was Audi Team Rosberg whom led the charge, holding a 35 point lead over Audi Team Abt. Mercedes-AMG Me were also in the hunt in third, although their 87 point deficit made it near impossible for them to take the title. Audi, meanwhile, would head into the finale in complete command of the Manufacturers' Championship, only needing a handful of points across both Hockenheim races to claim the crown.

2017 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Mattias Ekström 172 ◄0 2nd René Rast 151 ▲3 3rd Jamie Green 137 ▼1 4th Mike Rockenfeller 134 ▲2 5th Marco Wittmann 134 ▼1 6th Lucas Auer 131 ▼3 7th Timo Glock 115 ▲2 8th Robert Wickens 113 ▼1 9th Maxime Martin 110 ▼1 10th Paul di Resta 99 ◄0 11th Gary Paffett 88 ◄0 12th Nico Müller 81 ▲1 13th Bruno Spengler 74 ▼1 14th Maro Engel 51 ◄0 15th Edoardo Mortara 49 ◄0 16th Augusto Farfus 29 ◄0 17th Loïc Duval 22 ▲1 18th Tom Blomqvist 22 ▼1

2017 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Rosberg 288 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Abt 253 ◄0 3rd Mercedes-AMG Me 201 ◄0 4th BMW Team RBM 184 ◄0 5th Mercedes-AMG BWT 180 ◄0 6th BMW Team RMG 163 ◄0 7th Audi Team Phoenix 156 ▲1 8th Mercedes-AMG Silberpfeil 150 ▼1 9th BMW Team RMR 137 ◄0 2017 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 697 ◄0 2nd Mercedes 531 ◄0 3rd BMW 484 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References

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