2019 Zolder Race 1

2019 Zolder Race 1
The Circuit Zolder returned to the DTM in 2019.
Race Information
Date	18 May 2019
No.	236
Event	DTM Zolder 2019
Location	Circuit Zolder Heusden-Zolder, Belgium
Format	{{{format}}}
Lap length	4.011 km (2.492 mi)
Distance	39 laps / 156.390 km (97.176 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Marco Wittmann
Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	1:21.307
Fastest Lap
Driver	Robin Frijns
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	1:23.751 on lap 23
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Philipp Eng	Joel Eriksson	Nico Müller
Winner Team	BMW Team RMR
Time	59:34.758
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2019 Hockenheim Opening Race 2		2019 Zolder Race 2

The 2019 Zolder Race 1, formally known as the DTM Zolder 2019 Race 1, was the third race of the 2019 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Circuit Zolder in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, on 18 May 2019. The race, which was the first DTM round to be held at Zolder since 2002, would see Philipp Eng claim his maiden victory after a strategic climb up the field.

Qualifying would see Marco Wittmann sweep to his second pole position of the season, beating René Rast by half a tenth. The second row of the grid would feature two more BMWs in the hands of Bruno Spengler and Sheldon van der Linde, while Robin Frijns sneaked the second of the Audis into fifth.

The start of the race saw Spengler dart up from third on the grid to challenge for the lead, and duly swept past both Wittmann and Rast to secure the advantage. Wittmann himself would fend off compatriot Rast to claim second, while van der Linde and Eng gave chase in fourth and fifth.

The rest of the opening lap was fairly tame, with Paul di Resta pitting from the back of the field to make his compulsory stop at the end of the lap. A lap later and Mike Rockenfeller and Ferdinand von Habsburg were also in, while Frijns, Loïc Duval and Pietro Fittipaldi were slapped with five second time penalties for jumping the start.

As the race wore on several members of the lead group pitted, with Eng the first to do so on lap twelve, the race having developed into a stalemate. His bid for victory was aided a few moments later when Daniel Juncadella and Jake Dennis both retiring on lap fifteen, the latter having been forced to stop in the pit entrance.

The SC intervention prevented the leaders from pitting, and hence kept Eng in the pack when Spengler and Wittmann led the field through the IndyCar style restart at the end of lap eighteen. Spengler duly held the lead ahead of his stablemate into the first corner, as behind van der Linde elbowed his way past Rast for third.

The race soon settled once again, with Spengler and van der Linde the first to blink for their stops on lap twenty. Eng, meanwhile, would move into third before sticking a move Rast for second, with Joel Eriksson following him through having also made an early stop.

Rast subsequently slipped further down the field before making his stop, with Wittmann surrendering the lead to Eng when he stopped on lap 25. A slow stop for Rast was then followed by a terminal oil leak, while Wittmann rejoined down in seventh ahead of the two remaining Aston Martins.

With that Eng was able to ease to the line to secure his maiden DTM victory, beating teammate Eriksson by eight seconds. Eriksson himself kept Nico Müller at bay to secure third ahead of Duval, while Rockenfeller rallied back brilliantly to claim fifth ahead of Jamie Green. Wittmann was next up ahead of di Resta and Ferdinand von Habsburg, while Spengler completed the top ten.

Background

Marco Wittmann had retained the lead in the Championship as the opening weekend came to a conclusion, although his advantage had been reduced to three points. Robin Frijns was next up in second ahead of race winner René Rast, while Nico Müller sat in fourth, twelve off the lead. Mike Rockenfeller and Timo Glock were next up, level on 20 points in fifth and sixth, with everyone bar Jake Dennis, Ferdinand von Habsburg and Jonathan Aberdein having scored at the season opener.

In the Teams' Championship it was ABT Sportsline who topped the field after the opening weekend, leaving Hockenheim with a three point lead. BMW Team RMG were next up in second with 50 points, while their sister team BMW Team RMR were in third, eighteen off the lead. In the Brands' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had moved into the lead ahead of BMW, while Aston Martin were already a distant third on nine points.

Entry List

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

2019 Zolder 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 Zolder Race 1 are outlined below:

2019 Zolder Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	11	Marco Wittmann	Team RMG	1:21.307	—	177.106 km/h	1
2nd	33	René Rast	Team Rosberg	1:21.349	+0.042s	177.015 km/h	2
3rd	7	Bruno Spengler	Team RMG	1:21.614	+0.307s	176.440 km/h	3
4th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	Team RBM	1:21.744	+0.437s	176.159 km/h	4
5th	4	Robin Frijns	Team Abt	1:21.911	+0.604s	175.800 km/h	5
6th	16	Timo Glock	Team RMR	1:21.940	+0.633s	175.738 km/h	6
7th	25	Philipp Eng	Team RMR	1:21.995	+0.688s	175.620 km/h	7
8th	51	Nico Müller	Team Abt	1:22.079	+0.772s	175.440 km/h	8
9th	47	Joel Eriksson	Team RBM	1:22.082	+0.775s	175.434 km/h	9
10th	53	Jamie Green	Team Rosberg	1:22.143	+0.836s	175.304 km/h	10
11th	21	Pietro Fittipaldi	Team WRT	1:22.154	+0.847s	175.280 km/h	11
12th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	Team WRT	1:22.188	+0.881s	175.208 km/h	12
13th	76	Jake Dennis	R-Motorsport I	1:22.215	+0.908s	175.150 km/h	13
14th	28	Loïc Duval	Team Phoenix	1:22.519	+1.212s	174.505 km/h	14
15th	23	Daniel Juncadella	R-Motorsport II	1:22.675	+1.368s	174.175 km/h	15
16th*	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Team Phoenix	1:22.684	+1.377s	174.157 km/h	18*
17th	3	Paul di Resta	R-Motorsport I	1:22.694	+1.387s	174.135 km/h	16
18th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	R-Motorsport II	1:23.240	+1.933s	172.993 km/h	17
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

• * Rockenfeller started from the back of the grid after repairs were made to his clutch in Parc Fermé conditions.

Grid

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

• * Rockenfeller started from the back of the grid after repairs were made to his clutch in Parc Fermé conditions.

Race

Results

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

2019 Zolder Race 1 Race Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	25	Philipp Eng	Team RMR	39	59:34.758	1:24.421	25
2nd	47	Joel Eriksson	Team RBM	39	+8.645s	1:24.139	18
3rd	51	Nico Müller	Team Abt	39	+8.829s	1:24.310	15
4th	28	Loïc Duval	Team Phoenix	39	+18.159s	1:25.036	12
5th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Team Phoenix	39	+24.502s	1:25.382	10
6th	53	Jamie Green	Team Rosberg	39	+32.318s	1:24.523	8
7th	11	Marco Wittmann	Team RMG	39	+32.746s	1:24.283	63
8th	3	Paul di Resta	R-Motorsport I	39	+35.875s	1:26.154	4
9th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	R-Motorsport II	39	+38.858s	1:26.770	2
10th	7	Bruno Spengler	Team RMG	39	+39.874s	1:24.361	11
11th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	Team RBM	39	+40.571s	1:24.448
12th	4	Robin Frijns	Team Abt	39	+42.721s	1:23.751
13th	16	Timo Glock	Team RMR	39	+45.672s	1:24.600
14th	21	Pietro Fittipaldi	Team WRT	39	+1:09.779	1:24.582
NC*	27	Jonathan Aberdein	Team WRT	27	+12 Laps	1:25.529
NC*	33	René Rast	Team Rosberg	27	+12 Laps	1:24.310	2
Ret	23	Daniel Juncadella	R-Motorsport II	12	Throttle	1:25.312
Ret	76	Jake Dennis	R-Motorsport I	12	Electronics	1:25.815
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.
• * Aberdein and Rast were still classified despite retiring as they failed to complete 75% of the race distance.

Milestones

• First DTM race to be held at the Circuit Zolder since 2002.
• Maiden victory for Philipp Eng.
• Ferdinand von Habsburg claimed his maiden points finish.

Standings

Marco Wittmann had retained his lead at the head of the hunt after the third race of the season, which remained at a tenuous three points. Philipp Eng had been the big winner in the opening race at Zolder, leaping into second after his maiden victory. Nico Müller had also made group as he climbed to third ahead of Robin Frijns, while Mike Rockenfeller retained his top five status in fifth.

In the Teams' Championship there had been no changes to the order, with Team Abt retaining their slim lead over BMW Team RMG at the head of the hunt. BMW Team RMR were next, a point behind RMG, while Team Phoenix and Team Rosberg completed the top five. Likewise, there was no change in the Brands' Championship, with Audi still leading from BMW and Aston Martin.

 

2019 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Marco Wittmann 43 ◄0 2nd Philipp Eng 40 ▲6 3rd Nico Müller 37 ▲1 4th Robin Frijns 31 ▼2 5th Mike Rockenfeller 30 ◄0 6th René Rast 27 ▼3 7th Loïc Duval 22 ▲2 8th Timo Glock 20 ▼2 9th Joel Eriksson 19 ▲5 10th Bruno Spengler 18 ▼3 11th Paul di Resta 11 ◄0 12th Jamie Green 10 ◄0 13th Sheldon van der Linde 8 ▼3 14th Daniel Juncadella 2 ▼1 15th Ferdinand von Habsburg 1 ▲2 16th Pietro Fittipaldi 1 ▼1

2019 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Team Abt 68 ◄0 2nd Team RMG 61 ◄0 3rd Team RMR 60 ◄0 4th Team Phoenix 52 ◄0 5th Team Rosberg 37 ◄0 6th Team RBM 27 ◄0 7th R-Motorsport I 11 ◄0 8th R-Motorsport II 4 ◄0 9th Team WRT 1 ◄0 2019 Brands' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 157 ◄0 2nd BMW 132 ◄0 3rd Aston Martin 15 ◄0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References

Images and Videos:

References: