2019 Hockenheim Opening Race 1

2019 Hockenheim Opening Race 1
The Hockenheimring was unchanged in 2019.
Race Information
Date	4 May 2019
No.	234
Event	DTM Hockenheim Opening 2019
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Format	{{{format}}}
Lap length	4.933 km (3.065 mi)
Distance	34 laps / 155.516 km (96.633 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Marco Wittmann
Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	1:48.215
Fastest Lap
Driver	Timo Glock
Team	BMW Team RMR
Time	1:42.509 on lap 34
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Marco Wittmann	Mike Rockenfeller	Robin Frijns
Winner Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	1:03:30.158
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2018 Hockenheim Finale Race 2		2019 Hockenheim Opening Race 2

The DTM Hockenheim Opening 2019 Race 1, otherwise known as the 2019 Hockenheim Opening Race 1, was the opening round of the 2019 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 4 May 2019. The race would see Marco Wittmann claim victory on the opening day of the season, as Aston Martin made their debut as a manufacturer in partnership with HWA and AF Racing AG.

It had been a busy winter for all involved in the DTM, with Mercedes-Benz having withdrawn to leave the Series with only Audi and BMW as entrants. Aston Martin would sign up to replace the German giants, signing up ex-Mercedes drivers Paul di Resta and Daniel Juncadella to spearhead their campaign.

Elsewhere, Audi, BMW and Aston would all have to build Inline-4 turbocharged engines, with the DTM having officially adopted the Class One regulations agreed between ITR and Super GT. There would also been some shuffles among the drivers, particularly at Audi, as WRT signed up to run a pair of customer Audi drivers.

Into the opening round itself and Wittmann claimed the first pole position of the turbocharged era, beating Mike Rockenfeller in a rain swept duel. Behind, di Resta was a shock third on the grid for Aston on their debut ahead of René Rast, while Robin Frijns beat Jake Dennis to sixth.

The rain remained around Hockenheim for the start of the race, resulting in three additional formation laps and a reduction in race distance to 34 laps. Yet, the start would still be from the grid, with Wittmann and Rockenfeller both making poor starts to surrender the lead to a flying Frijns and di Resta.

Elsewhere, Timo Glock also made a strong start, although Rast would tap the back of the German racer and send him into a spin at turn one, miraculously not getting collected. Wittmann, meanwhile, would rally back from his poor start to claim back to the lead from Frijns and di Resta, while Rockenfeller muscled his way past the Scot to secure third.

Rockenfeller subsequently secured second from Frijns on lap four to go charging off after Wittmann, leaving the Dutchman to be passed by Rast. Rast went on to catch and pass Rockenfeller once it became clear that his compatriot could not pass Wittmann, while Frijns began to fall away.

The lead fight continued through beyond an official call allowing drivers to swap to slicks if they wanted, with Rockenfeller the first to stop with seven laps remaining. He remained on wets, prompting Wittmann to stop a lap later to retain the lead, while Rast ultimately retired with an engine failure.

Yet, Wittmann would fend off Rockenfeller's brief challenge to claim opening day victory, easing thirteen seconds clear in the closing stages. Frijns completed the podium in a lonely third ahead of Glock, while Loïc Duval, Sheldon van der Linde, Bruno Spengler, Nico Müller, Daniel Juncadella and Pietro Fittipaldi claimed the remaining points.

Background

Entry List

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

2019 Hockenheim Opening 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 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 are outlined below:

2019 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:48.215	—	152.163 km/h	1
2nd	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:48.281	+0.066s	152.071 km/h	2
3rd	3	Paul di Resta	R-Motorsport I	1:49.191	+0.976s	150.803 km/h	3
4th	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:49.510	+1.295s	150.364 km/h	4
5th	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Abt Sportsline	1:49.535	+1.320s	150.330 km/h	5
6th	76	Jake Dennis	R-Motorsport I	1:49.762	+1.547s	150.019 km/h	6
7th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	1:50.331	+2.116s	149.245 km/h	7
8th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMR	1:50.509	+2.294s	149.005 km/h	8
9th	47	Joel Eriksson	BMW Team RBM	1:50.626	+2.411s	148.847 km/h	9
10th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Abt Sportsline	1:50.839	+2.624s	148.561 km/h	10
11th	23	Daniel Juncadella	R-Motorsport II	1:50.884	+2.669s	148.501 km/h	11
12th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:50.909	+2.694s	148.467 km/h	12
13th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:50.914	+2.699s	148.460 km/h	13
14th	7	Bruno Spengler	BMW Team RMG	1:51.094	+2.879s	148.220 km/h	14
15th	21	Pietro Fittipaldi	Audi Team WRT	1:51.287	+3.072s	147.963 km/h	15
16th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	R-Motorsport II	1:55.470	+7.255s	142.603 km/h	16
NC*	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RMR	—			PL
NC†	27	Jonathan Aberdein	Audi Team WRT	—			PL
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Eng was unable to set a lap time in qualifying due to an electrical issue.
• ^† Aberdein failed to set a lap time after crashing during the qualifying session.

Grid

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

• * Eng and Aberdein would start the race from the pitlane due to issues ahead of the race.

Race

Results

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

2019 Hockenheim Opening Race 1 Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	11	Marco Wittmann	Team RMG	34	1:03:30.158	1:43.574	253
2nd	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Team Phoenix	34	+13.727s	1:44.266	202
3rd	4	Robin Frijns	ABT Sportsline	34	+34.681s	1:44.063	15
4th	16	Timo Glock	Team RMR	34	+37.407s	1:42.469	12
5th	28	Loïc Duval	Team Phoenix	34	+1:03.383	1:42.663	10
6th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	Team RBM	34	+1:05.453	1:42.554	8
7th	7	Bruno Spengler	Team RMG	34	+1:13.886	1:44.560	6
8th	51	Nico Müller	ABT Sportsline	34	+1:29.780	1:43.777	4
9th	23	Daniel Juncadella	R-Motorsport II	34	+1:30.322	1:44.438	2
10th	21	Pietro Fittipaldi	Team WRT	34	+1:31.873	1:42.821	1
11th	76	Jake Dennis	R-Motorsport I	34	+1:36.899	1:42.797
12th	53	Jamie Green	Team Rosberg	33	+1 Lap	1:44.756
13th	47	Joel Eriksson	Team RBM	33	+1 Lap	1:49.458
14th	25	Philipp Eng	Team RMR	33	+1 Lap	1:44.008
15th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	Team WRT	33	+1 Lap	1:45.058
16th*	33	René Rast	Team Rosberg	28	Engine	1:47.237
Ret	3	Paul di Resta	R-Motorsport I	17	Accident	1:55.565	1
Ret	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	R-Motorsport II	2	Retired	2:21.899
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.
• * Rast was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 80% of the race distance.

Milestones

• Debut race for Aston Martin as a manufacturer.
• First race for R-Motorsport as an entrant.
• Jonathan Aberdein, Jake Dennis, Pietro Fittipaldi, Ferdinand von Habsburg and Sheldon van der Linde made their debuts.
• First Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race to feature I4 turbocharged engines.
• Twelfth win for Marco Wittmann.
• Maiden points finish for van der Linde and Fittipaldi.
• Daniel Juncadella secure the maiden points finish for Aston Martin.

Standings

Marco Wittmann would secure top spot in the Championship after the opening round of the season, ending the opening day with 28 points to his credit. Mike Rockenfeller and Robin Frijns completed the early top three on 20 and 15 points respectively, while Timo Glock and Loïc Duval claimed top five spots.

Team RMG opened the 2019 season at the head of the Teams Championship, leading the charge with 34 points. Team Phoenix were next up in second on 30, while ABT Sportsline completed the opening day top three. In the Brands' Championship, it was BMW who led the field, holding a five point lead over Audi.

 

2019 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Marco Wittmann 28 ◄0 2nd Mike Rockenfeller 20 ◄0 3rd Robin Frijns 15 ◄0 4th Timo Glock 12 ◄0 5th Loïc Duval 10 ◄0 6th Sheldon van der Linde 8 ◄0 7th Bruno Spengler 6 ◄0 8th Nico Müller 4 ◄0 9th Daniel Juncadella 2 ◄0 10th Pietro Fittipaldi 1 ◄0 11th Paul di Resta 1 ◄0

2019 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Team RMG 34 ◄0 2nd Team Phoenix 30 ◄0 3rd ABT Sportsline 19 ◄0 4th Team RMR 12 ◄0 5th Team RBM 8 ◄0 6th R-Motorsport II 2 ◄0 7th Team WRT 1 ◄0 8th R-Motorsport I 1 ◄0 2019 Brands' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st BMW 54 ◄0 2nd Audi 49 ◄0 3rd Aston Martin 3 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers and teams are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

References: