2019 Assen Race 1

2019 Assen Race 1
The Assen TT Circuit in 2019.
Race Information
Date	20 July 2019
No.	242
Event	DTM Assen 2019
Location	TT Circuit Assen Assen, Drenthe, Netherlands
Format	{{{format}}}
Lap length	4.555 km (2.829 mi)
Distance	31 laps / 141.205 km (87.741 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Marco Wittmann
Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	1:25.434
Fastest Lap
Driver	Nico Müller
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	1:44.598 on lap 30
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Marco Wittmann	Nico Müller	René Rast
Winner Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	1:01:15.672
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2019 Norisring Race 1		2019 Assen Race 2

The 2019 Assen Race 1, otherwise known as the DTM Assen 2019 Race 1, was the ninth round of the 2019 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, held at the TT Circuit Assen in Assen, Drenthe, Netherlands, on 20 July 2019. The race would see Marco Wittmann secure victory for the third time in 2019, in a race that was heavily affected by rain.

Qualifying had seen Wittmann attempt to get his title bid back on track, securing pole position ahead of Championship leader René Rast. Elsewhere, Jake Dennis caused a mid-race red flag after stopping on track, while a significant threat of rain never materialised.

Instead, the rain would wait until the field had assembled on the grid to make its presence known, with hail and a downpour soaking the circuit. As a result the race was declared as a wet race, with the field all starting on wet tyres behind the safety car.

Witmmann duly claimed the lead unopposed at the start when the field were released, with the sheer amount of spray making the conditions treacherous for those in the middle of the pack. Indeed, Bruno Spengler would misjudge his braking point for turn five and hence slid into Sheldon van der Linde, sending the South African racer into a spin, while Daniel Juncadella stopped at turn twelve with an electrical issue.

Juncadella's on-track retirement triggered another safety car, which was fortunate for Wittmann who had only just managed to keep Rast at bay on the opening tour. When the race resumed on lap six the younger German racer initially broke clear, although a mistake at the first corner allowed Rast to close right onto his tail.

They duly ran nose-to-tail in the early laps, while Nico Müller collided with Timo Glock and dropped back, before recovering back up to third on lap ten. Elsewhere, Jamie Green and Robin Frijns were the first drivers to stop, although with rain still hanging around Assen there was no hope of switching to slicks.

The fight for the lead would see Rast blink for fresh tyres first, diving in on lap fifteen to try and undercut Wittmann. Wittmann stopped a lap later and duly retained the lead, although Rast, with his tyres up to temperature, almost managed to take the lead from the #11 BMW as Wittmann tried to warm up his tyres.

The main beneficiary from all of that would be Müller, with the Swiss racer remaining out until the end of lap 25 having inherited the lead from Wittmann. His extended first stint allowed him to rejoin from his stop in the lead of the race, although with cold tyres he was powerless to prevent Wittmann from passing. Müller would, however, have enough in hand to keep Rast at bay.

With that the race was run, with Wittmann able to keep Müller and Rast at bay to secure victory, with the Swiss racer himself easing clear of Rast. Philipp Eng was next up ahead of Timo Glock and Jonathan Aberdein, who had harassed the Austrian racer to the chequered flag. Green was next up ahead of Loïc Duval, with Mike Rockenfeller and van der Linde completing the scorers.

Background

René Rast maintained his lead in the Championship as the fourth round of the season came to a conclusion, leaving the Norisring with 128 points to his name. Nico Müller was his closest pretender in second, 25 points off the lead, while Philipp Eng was still in the hunt in third on 29 points. Next up in fourth was race winner Bruno Spengler on 77 points, just ahead of Marco Wittmann on 72.

Audi Team Rosberg would leave Nuremburg with 181 points to their credit, leaving them at the head of the hunt by 21 points. Audi Team Abt were their closest challengers in second, while BMW Team RMG sat in third on 149 as the first non-Audi squad. In the Brands' Championship, meanwhile, Audi led the charge leaving the Norisring with 458 points, with BMW in second on 337 and Aston Martin on 27.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2019 Assen Race 1 is displayed below:

2019 Assen Race 1 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine
3	Paul di Resta	R-Motorsport I	Aston Martin	Vantage DTM	HWA AFR Turbo 2.0l I4t
4	Robin Frijns	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
21	Pietro Fittipaldi	Audi Sport Team WRT	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
23	Daniel Juncadella	R-Motorsport II	Aston Martin	Vantage DTM	HWA AFR Turbo 2.0l I4t
25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
27	Jonathan Aberdein	Audi Sport Team WRT	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
28	Loïc Duval	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
33	René Rast	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
47	Joel Eriksson	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
51	Nico Müller	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
53	Jamie Green	Audi Sport Team Rosberg	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	R-Motorsport II	Aston Martin	Vantage DTM	HWA AFR Turbo 2.0l I4t
76	Jake Dennis	R-Motorsport I	Aston Martin	Vantage DTM	HWA AFR Turbo 2.0l I4t
99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Sport Team Phoenix	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
Source:

Qualifying

Results

The final qualifying result for the 2019 Assen Race 1 are outlined below:

2019 Assen Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:25.434	—	191.937 km/h	1
2nd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:25.592	+0.158s	191.583 km/h	2
3rd	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:25.749	+0.315s	191.232 km/h	3
4th	21	Pietro Fittipaldi	Audi Team WRT	1:25.751	+0.317s	191.228 km/h	4
5th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	1:25.853	+0.419s	191.000 km/h	5
6th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	1:25.855	+0.421s	190.996 km/h	6
7th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	1:25.856	+0.422s	190.994 km/h	7
8th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RMG	1:26.004	+0.570s	190.665 km/h	8
9th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RMR	1:26.056	+0.622s	190.550 km/h	9
10th	47	Joel Eriksson	BMW Team RBM	1:26.210	+0.776s	190.209 km/h	10
11th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	Audi Team WRT	1:26.387	+0.953s	189.820 km/h	11
12th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:26.479	+1.045s	189.618 km/h	12
13th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:26.487	+1.053s	189.600 km/h	13
14th	23	Daniel Juncadella	R-Motorsport II	1:26.657	+1.223s	189.228 km/h	14
15th	3	Paul di Resta	R-Motorsport I	1:26.907	+1.473s	188.684 km/h	15
16th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	R-Motorsport II	1:27.218	+1.784s	188.011 km/h	16
17th	76	Jake Dennis	R-Motorsport I	1:27.241	+1.807s	187.962 km/h	17
EXC*	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	1:26.454		189.131 km/h	18
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Frijns was excluded from qualifying after Team Abt broke Parc Fermé rules to repair his oil tank.

Grid

	Pos.	Pos.
	Driver	Driver
	______________
Row 1	1	______________
	Marco Wittmann	2
	______________	René Rast
Row 2	3	______________
	Loïc Duval	4
	______________	Pietro Fittipaldi
Row 3	5	______________
	Timo Glock	6
	______________	Nico Müller
Row 4	7	______________
	Sheldon van der Linde	8
	______________	Bruno Spengler
Row 5	9	______________
	Philipp Eng	10
	______________	Joel Eriksson
Row 6	11	______________
	Jonathan Aberdein	12
	______________	Jamie Green
Row 7	13	______________
	Mike Rockenfeller	14
	______________	Daniel Juncadella
Row 8	15	______________
	Paul di Resta	16
	______________	Ferdinand von Habsburg
Row 9	17	______________
	Jake Dennis	18
	______________	Robin Frijns

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2019 Assen Race 1 is displayed below:

2019 Assen Race 1 Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	31	1:01:15.672	1:44.676	253
2nd	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	31	+3.137s	1:44.598	18
3rd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	31	+8.094s	1:45.394	152
4th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RMR	31	+25.313s	1:45.848	12
5th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	31	+25.534s	1:45.120	10
6th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	Audi Team WRT	31	+27.887s	1:46.054	8
7th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	31	+36.078s	1:45.933	6
8th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	31	+42.496s	1:47.403	41
9th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	31	+43.656s	1:46.954	2
10th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	31	+44.184s	1:46.101	1
11th	21	Pietro Fittipaldi	Audi Team WRT	31	+45.162s	1:46.330
12th	76	Jake Dennis	R-Motorsport I	31	+45.869s	1:45.059
13th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	R-Motorsport II	31	+48.094s	1:46.254
14th	3	Paul di Resta	R-Motorsport I	31	+48.917s	1:44.925
15th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RMG	31	+53.378s	1:45.212
16th	47	Joel Eriksson	BMW Team RBM	31	+1:01.197	1:47.470
Ret	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	21	Damage	1:47.875
Ret	23	Daniel Juncadella	R-Motorsport II	3	Electrical	2:46.067
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.

Milestones

• Marco Wittmann claimed his fourteenth win.

Standings

René Rast maintained the initiative in the Championship hunt, hitting the midpoint in the season with 145 points to his credit. Nico Müller was his closest challenger in second, 23 points behind, while Philipp Eng was the third pretender in third on 111 points. Marco Wittmann would enter the second half of the season facing a 45 point deficit to the leader, while Bruno Spengler was a distant fifth on 77.

In the Teams' Championship Audi Team Rosberg would head into the second half of the season with the lead, holding 204 points after nine rounds. Second place was occupied by Audi Team Abt, with a point between themselves and third placed BMW Team RMG. In the Brands' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had a commanding lead of 120 points over BMW in second, while Aston Martin were a distant third on 27.

 

2019 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st René Rast 145 ◄0 2nd Nico Müller 121 ◄0 3rd Philipp Eng 111 ◄0 4th Marco Wittmann 100 ▲1 5th Bruno Spengler 77 ▼1 6th Mike Rockenfeller 68 ◄0 7th Loïc Duval 64 ◄0 8th Robin Frijns 57 ◄0 9th Jamie Green 49 ◄0 10th Joel Eriksson 43 ◄0 11th Timo Glock 33 ▲1 12th Sheldon van der Linde 26 ▼1 13th Jonathan Aberdein 21 ▲1 14th Pietro Fittipaldi 13 ▼1 15th Daniel Juncadella 11 ◄0 16th Paul di Resta 11 ◄0 17th Jake Dennis 10 ◄0 18th Ferdinand von Habsburg 3 ◄0 19th Andrea Dovizioso 0 ◄0

2019 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Rosberg 204 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Abt 178 ◄0 3rd BMW Team RMG 177 ◄0 4th BMW Team RMR 144 ▲1 5th Audi Team Phoenix 132 ▼1 6th BMW Team RBM 69 ◄0 7th Audi Team WRT 24 ▲1 8th R-Motorsport I 21 ▼1 9th R-Motorsport II 14 ◄0 2019 Brands' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 508 ◄0 2nd BMW 388 ◄0 3rd Aston Martin 27 ◄0

References

Images and Videos:

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