2020 Nürburg Race 1

2020 Nürburg Race 1
File:Nurburgring GP Strecke 2002.png The full Nürburgring circuit returned for 2020.
Race Information
Date	12 September 2020
No.	260
Event	DTM Nürburg 2020
Location	Nürburgring GP-Strecke Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Format	{{{format}}}
Lap length	5.148 km (3.199 mi)
Distance	31 laps / 159.588 km (99.163 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Nico Müller
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	1:46.834
Fastest Lap
Driver	Nico Müller
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	1:49.975 on lap 14
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Nico Müller	René Rast	Marco Wittmann
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	58:10.251
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2020 Assen Race 2		2020 Nürburg Race 2

The 2020 Nürburg Race 1, formally known as the 2020 DTM Nürburg Race 1, was the ninth race of the 2020 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Nürburgring GP-Strecke in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on 12 September 2020. The race, which was the first DTM race to be held on the full GP-Strecke since 2001, would see Nico Müller narrowly miss-out on a Grand Slam as he secured a dominant victory to enhance his Championship lead.

Qualifying for the DTM's first race around the full GP-Strecke in almost two decades saw Müller sweep to pole position, defeating title rival René Rast by two tenths of a second. Robin Frijns completed an increasingly familiar all-Audi top three, while Marco Wittmann was the lone BMW pilot in the top six, securing fourth.

The start of the race saw Müller convert pole position to an undisputed lead, surging ahead of Rast on the short sprint down hill to turn one. Rast himself would secure an unopposed second ahead of Frijns, who would have to fend off a fast starting Mike Rockenfeller to complete the top three.

Müller and Rast would quickly ease clear in the opening stages of the race, although the #33 Audi was visibly struggling to keep pace with the sister #51 car, just remaining within a second. Behind, Frijns would slip back initially before matching their pace some five seconds behind, with the rest of the field quickly settling into a holding pattern behind the leading trio of Audis.

As the pitstops loomed Müller was finally able to escape from Rast too, the Swiss ace soon finding himself with a handsome three second lead. Rast, meanwhile, would slip into the sights of Frijns before the stops, resulting in the Dutchman throwing the #4 Audi aggressively down the inside of the #33 car to secure second.

Müller was the first driver to stop on lap twelve, surrendering the lead to Frijns as he tried to escape from Rast. Rast then stopped on the following tour and dropped well behind Müller, although the German ace was able to reclaim second from Frijns when the Dutchman made his stop and rejoined on cold tyres.

The rest of the race was about the fight for second, with Müller's lead ever increasing as the race wore on as Rast and Frijns duelled behind. Their duel would ultimately end with Frijns sending a late lunge at Rast into turn one, only to smack the kerb and spin into the runoff area dumping him back to fifth.

With that the race was effectively over, with Müller cruising to a dominant victory some fifteen seconds clear of second placed Rast. Third would go to Wittmann after a late move on a fading Rockenfeller, Frijns held fifth after late pressure from Philipp Eng, while Timo Glock secured seventh ahead of Sheldon van der Linde. Loïc Duval and Lucas Auer then completed the top ten, although a ten second time penalty for Auer would put Jonathan Aberdein into tenth.

Background

Less than a week after the round in Assen the 2020 DTM Championship rolled into the familiar sights of the paddock at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany for the fifth round of the condensed season. However, for the first time since 2001 the DTM field would use the full GP-Strecke at the Nürburgring, having used the Sprint Circuit ever since the circuit was updated in 2002. In terms of the entry list, meanwhile, there were no changes ahead of the fifth round of the campaign, with the same sixteen drivers competing in Nürburg.

Assen Aspects

Nico Müller would leave the Netherlands with his Championship lead still in a healthy state, the Swiss ace 26 points clear after eight races. Robin Frijns was his closest challenger in second after his strongest DTM weekend, while René Rast had slipped 44 points off in third. Loïc Duval was next up ahead of Timo Glock, the best BMW pilot, with Sheldon van der Linde having moved up to sixth after his maiden win.

Audi Team Abt would retain their commanding position in the Teams' Championship, the German squad having moved onto 302 points for the campaign. Audi Team Rosberg were next up in second, 135 points off the leaders, while Audi Team Phoenix made it an all Audi top three on 123. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had total control having outscored BMW for the eighth consecutive race, moving onto 543 points for the campaign.

Entry List

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

2020 Nürburg 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 Nürburg Race 1 are outlined below:

2020 Nürburg Race 1 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	1:46.834	—	173.472 km/h	1
2nd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:47.055	+0.221s	173.114 km/h	2
3rd	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	1:47.428	+0.594s	172.513 km/h	3
4th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:47.493	+0.659s	172.409 km/h	4
5th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:47.549	+0.715s	172.319 km/h	5
6th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	1:47.556	+0.722s	172.308 km/h	6
7th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	1:47.631	+0.797s	172.188 km/h	7
8th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:47.642	+0.808s	172.170 km/h	8
9th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:47.751	+0.917s	171.996 km/h	9
10th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	1:47.938	+1.104s	171.698 km/h	10
11th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	1:47.968	+1.134s	171.650 km/h	11
12th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	1:48.034	+1.200s	171.545 km/h	12
13th	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	1:48.206	+1.372s	171.273 km/h	13
14th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	1:48.450	+1.616s	170.887 km/h	14
15th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	1:48.935	+2.101s	170.127 km/h	15
NC*	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	1:48.096			16
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Aberdein had his lap times deleted.

Grid

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

		13	Fabio Scherer	1:48.935			10	Harrison Newey	1:48.206			62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	1:47.556			25	Philipp Eng	1:47.938			53	Jamie Green	1:47.642			99	Mike Rockenfeller	1:47.549			4	Robin Frijns	1:47.428			51	Nico Müller	1:46.834
	27	Jonathan Aberdein		—		8	Robert Kubica		1:48.450		16	Timo Glock		1:48.034		22	Lucas Auer		1:47.968		28	Loïc Duval		1:47.751		31	Sheldon van der Linde		1:47.631		11	Marco Wittmann		1:47.493		33	René Rast		1:47.055

Race

Results

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

2020 Nürburg Race 1 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	31	58:10.251	1:49.975	253
2nd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	31	+15.655s	1:50.512	182
3rd	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	31	+18.141s	1:51.016	15
4th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	31	+20.842s	1:50.998	12
5th	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	31	+22.978s	1:50.788	101
6th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	31	+23.389s	1:51.114	8
7th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	31	+28.101s	1:50.901	6
8th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	31	+31.236s	1:51.184	4
9th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	31	+38.442s	1:51.094	2
10th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	31	+46.735s	1:50.765	1
11th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	31	+47.537s	1:51.571
12th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	31	+47.905s	1:51.380
13th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	31	+49.168s	1:50.556
14th	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	31	+50.200s	1:51.002
15th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	31	+51.984s	1:51.064
16th	8	Robert Kubica	Audi Team WRT	31	+1:16.023	1:52.206
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

• First DTM race to be staged at the Nürburgring GP-Strecke since 2001.
• Nico Müller secured his eighth victory.

Standings

A dominant victory for Nico Müller in the first of four races at the Nürburgring left the Swiss ace in a commanding position atop the Championship, with Müller moving onto 192 points for the campaign. Robin Frijns was next up in second, having slipped 43 points behind his teammate, while René Rast had moved to within nine points of the Dutchman in third. Loïc Duval was next up ahead of Timo Glock, while Marco Wittmann was the only driver to gain ground as he moved ahead of Jamie Green to claim eighth.

In the Teams' Championship there was little surprise that Audi Team Abt still had complete control, the German squad having moved onto 341 points after the first battle of the GP-Strecke. Audi Team Rosberg were next up in second, with a 244 point deficit to their sister squad, while Audi Team Phoenix were a further 50 points back in third. Audi, meanwhile, had moved onto 614 points for the season as they continued their domination of the Manufacturers' Championship, with BMW having claimed 275 points as the season hit its halfway point.

2020 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Nico Müller 192 ◄0 2nd Robin Frijns 149 ◄0 3rd René Rast 140 ◄0 4th Loïc Duval 73 ◄0 5th Timo Glock 68 ◄0 6th Sheldon van der Linde 64 ◄0 7th Mike Rockenfeller 64 ◄0 8th Marco Wittmann 59 ▲1 9th Jamie Green 47 ▼1 10th Lucas Auer 36 ◄0 11th Philipp Eng 30 ◄0 12th Jonathan Aberdein 20 ▲1 13th Ferdinand von Habsburg 19 ▼1 14th Harrison Newey 1 ◄0 15th Robert Kubica 1 ◄0 16th Fabio Scherer 0 ◄0

2020 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Abt 341 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Rosberg 187 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Phoenix 137 ◄0 4th BMW Team RMG 127 ◄0 5th BMW Team RBM 94 ◄0 6th BMW Team RMR 56 ◄0 7th Audi Team WRT 20 ◄0 8th BMW Team ART 1 ◄0 2020 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 614 ◄0 2nd BMW 275 ◄0

References

Images and Videos:

• Liveries: byggxx, 'Rennwagen (2020)', dtm.fandom.com/de, (DTM Wiki/de, 2015), https://dtm.fandom.com/de/wiki/Kategorie:Rennwagen_(2020), (Accessed 29/05/2021)

References: