2020 Hockenheim Race 1

2020 Hockenheim Race 1
The Hockenheimring was unchanged in 2020.
Race Information
Date	7 November 2020
No.	268
Event	DTM Hockenheim 2020
Location	Hockenheimring Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Format	55 min + 1 Lap
Lap length	4.574 km (2.842 mi)
Distance	36 laps / 164.664 km (102.317 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	René Rast
Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	1:28.405
Fastest Lap
Driver	René Rast
Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	1:30.487 on lap 22
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Nico Müller	René Rast	Jamie Green
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	1:01:11.045
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2020 Zolder II Race 2		2020 Hockenheim Race 2

The 2020 Hockenheim Race 1, otherwise known as the 2020 DTM Hockenheim Race 1, was the seventeenth and penultimate race of the 2020 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on 7 November 2020. The race would see Nico Müller overcome Championship leader René Rast to secure victory, ensuring that the fight for the title would go into the final day of the season.

Rast had drawn first blood in qualifying for the penultimate race, defeating Müller in a duel for pole between the main protagonists by 0.048s. Jonathan Aberdein was best of the rest for BMW in third, half a second off Rast's benchmark, while Robin Frijns, the dark horse for the title, would claim a lowly eighth on the grid.

The start of the race would see Müller draw alongside Rast into turn one for the lead, resulting in a clash of wheels that sent Rast off circuit. Rast gathered himself up and rejoined in second behind his title rival, while a collision at the back thinned the field and triggered a Safety Car.

The incident would see Robert Kubica, Marco Wittmann and Harrison Newey come together braking for the first corner, resulting in Newey and Wittmann skating into the barriers, while Kubica continued. After several minutes the race resumed with Müller acing the restart to break out a 0.6 second lead, only for Rast to retaliate on the following tour and even vie for the lead into the hairpin on the following tour.

Rast would not relent and duly eased past Müller through the Parabolika on the following tour, before Müller tried to retaliate into the hairpin. That failed, and when his second attempt at the hairpin was repulsed, Müller opted to simply sit and stalk the #33 Audi from second place.

Müller instead opted to try and undercut Rast at the stops, and duly pitted a lap earlier than the German ace on lap seventeen. The ploy worked as Müller jumped back into the lead, while Rast also fell behind Frijns and Green courtesy of their early stops.

Rast duly cleared Green and Frijns over the following laps, although in the five laps that took Müller was able to establish a four second lead. Yet, by lap 27 the #33 Audi was back on the tail of the sister #51 car, before Rast duly darted out from underneath Müller's rear wing to claim the lead at the hairpin for a second time.

With that Rast was able to ease away, only for a late Safety Car to allow Müller, who had dropped off the back of the #33 Audi, to close back up after Timo Glock was forced to stop. At the restart Rast initially managed to keep Müller at bay, only for the Swiss racer to use a combination of DRS and Push-to-Pass to reclaim the lead with a lunge around the outside of the hairpin.

For the rest of the race, Rast would throw everything he had at Müller to try and reclaim the lead once again, although the Swiss pretender was resolute in defence and duly claimed victory to keep his title hopes alive. Green had a front-row seat and watched the fight for victory through to the chequered flag to complete the podium, while Loïc Duval led Mike Rockenfeller and Jonathan Aberdein past Frijns as the Dutchman's tyres faded. Robert Kubica was next up ahead of Philipp Eng, while Sheldon van der Linde rounded out the top ten.

Background

Three weeks after the fourth and final race at Circuit Zolder the 2020 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship arrived at the familiar sights and sounds of the paddock at the Hockenheimring for the season finale. The Hockenheim circuit was unchanged for the DTM's sole visit in 2020, with the field having been restored to its original form with the return of Loïc Duval. There would, however, be a glimpse into the DTM's not too distant future, with the DTM Electric concept design being unveiled after some testing at the Hockenheimring ahead of the 2020 season finale.

Zolder Surprise

René Rast had extended his recently won lead in the Championship with his fourth straight win, with the defending Champion nineteen points clear at the head of the table. Nico Müller was his closest challenger having lost the lead to the German veteran, with Rast able to win the title at the penultimate round if he outscored Müller by nine points. Behind, Robin Frijns was still mathematically in the hunt in third, although the now 42 point deficit he faced meant he would need a near-perfect weekend at the finale, and see both Müller and Rast fail to score.

Audi Team Abt had once again been outscored in the Teams' Championship for only the third time in 2020, although the German squad had still added to their title winning tally. Behind Audi Team Rosberg had moved even further clear in second, while BMW Team RMG had moved six clear of Audi Team Phoenix to secure third. In the Manufacturers' Championship Audi continued to lead the way as their huge tally grew once again, the Ingolstadt marque having moved onto 1,102 points for the campaign.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2020 Hockenheim Race 1 is displayed below:

2020 Hockenheim Race 1 Entry List
No.	Name	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Livery
4	Robin Frijns	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART Orlen	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
10	Harrison Newey	Audi Sport Team WRT	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Sport Team WRT	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 2.0l I4t
16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 2.0l I4t
27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	BMW	M4 Turbo DTM	BMW P48 Turbo 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
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	Audi Sport Team WRT	Audi	RS5 Turbo DTM	Audi RC8 TFSI 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 2020 Hockenheim Race 1 are outlined below:

2020 Hockenheim Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:28.405	—	186.260 km/h	1
2nd	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	1:28.453	+0.048s	186.159 km/h	2
3rd	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	1:28.891	+0.486s	185.242 km/h	3
4th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:28.929	+0.524s	185.163 km/h	4
5th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	1:29.026	+0.621s	184.961 km/h	5
6th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	1:29.087	+0.682s	184.835 km/h	6
7th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:29.118	+0.713s	184.770 km/h	7
8th	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	1:29.137	+0.732s	184.731 km/h	8
9th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:29.176	+0.771s	184.650 km/h	9
10th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	1:29.287	+0.882s	184.421 km/h	10
11th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	1:29.300	+0.895s	184.394 km/h	11
12th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	1:29.599	+1.194s	183.778 km/h	12
13th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	1:29.599	+1.194s	183.778 km/h	13
14th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:29.628	+1.344s	183.471 km/h	14
15th	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	1:29.749	+1.344s	183.471 km/h	15
16th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	1:29.867	+1.462s	183.472 km/h	16
Source:

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

Grid

The starting grid for the 2020 Hockenheim Race 1 in shown below:

		10	Harrison Newey	1:29.749			16	Timo Glock	1:29.599			8	Robert Kubica	1:29.300			99	Mike Rockenfeller	1:29.176			28	Loïc Duval	1:29.118			31	Sheldon van der Linde	1:29.026			27	Jonathan Aberdein	1:28.891			33	René Rast	1:28.405
	22	Lucas Auer		1:29.867		11	Marco Wittmann		1:29.628		62	Ferdinand von Habsburg		1:29.599		13	Fabio Scherer		1:29.287		4	Robin Frijns		1:29.137		25	Philipp Eng		1:29.087		53	Jamie Green		1:28.929		51	Nico Müller		1:28.453

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2020 Hockenheim Race 1 is displayed below:

2020 Hockenheim Race 1 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	36	1:01:11.045	1:31.039	252
2nd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	36	+0.622s	1:30.487	183
3rd	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	36	+1.033s	1:31.472	15
4th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	36	+4.960s	1:31.231	12
5th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	36	+6.580s	1:31.861	101
6th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	36	+6.611s	1:31.428	8
7th	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	36	+6.727s	1:30.907	6
8th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	36	+8.668s	1:32.030	4
9th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	36	+9.025s	1:32.212	2
10th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	36	+11.056s	1:31.480	1
11th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	36	+12.646s	1:31.653
12th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	36	+15.244s	1:32.934
DSQ*	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	31	Disqualified	1:31.994
NC†	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	27	+9 Laps	1:32.535
Ret	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	0	Collision	—
Ret	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	0	Collision	—
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.
• * Scherer was disqualified from the results of the race.
• ^† Glock was unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance.

Milestones

• Tenth win for Nico Müller.

Standings

With one race to go the DTM Championship was still alive, with the top two drivers in the field separated by thirteen points ahead of the season finale. René Rast was the man to beat, and would win the title regardless if he finished ahead of Nico Müller, or finished on the podium regardless of what the Swiss racer could do. Müller, meanwhile, would need to finish in the top four to stand any hope of taking the title, with bonus points for qualifying altering other permutations.

In the Teams' Championship there had been little change at the head of the field, with Audi Team Abt having enhanced their tally to 580 points. Audi Team Rosberg were next up on 407, while in the fight for third Audi Team Phoenix had moved back ahead of BMW Team RMG. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had moved onto 1,177 for the campaign, compared the BMW's 487.

2020 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st René Rast 325 ◄0 2nd Nico Müller 312 ◄0 3rd Robin Frijns 268 ◄0 4th Mike Rockenfeller 125 ◄0 5th Timo Glock 116 ◄0 6th Sheldon van der Linde 106 ◄0 7th Loïc Duval 100 ▲1 8th Marco Wittmann 95 ▼1 9th Jamie Green 82 ◄0 10th Ferdinand von Habsburg 65 ◄0 11th Jonathan Aberdein 56 ▲2 12th Lucas Auer 51 ▼1 13th Philipp Eng 47 ▼1 14th Harrison Newey 27 ◄0 15th Robert Kubica 20 ▲1 16th Fabio Scherer 20 ▼1 17th Benoît Tréluyer 0 ◄0

2020 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Abt 580 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Rosberg 407 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Phoenix 225 ▲1 4th BMW Team RMG 211 ▼1 5th BMW Team RBM 153 ◄0 6th BMW Team RMR 107 ▲1 7th Audi Team WRT 100 ▼1 8th BMW Team ART 20 ◄0 2020 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 1,177 ◄0 2nd BMW 487 ◄0

References

Images and Videos:

• Liveries: byggxx, 'Rennwagen (2020)', dtm.fandom.com/de, (DTM Wiki/de, 2021), https://dtm.fandom.com/de/wiki/Kategorie:Rennwagen_(2020), (Accessed 29/05/2021)

References: