2020 Nürburg Race 2

2020 Nürburg Race 2
File:Nurburgring GP Strecke 2002.png The full Nürburgring circuit returned for 2020.
Race Information
Date	13 September 2020
No.	261
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	1:46.958
Fastest Lap
Driver	Robin Frijns
Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	1:50.219 on lap 15
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Robin Frijns	René Rast	Mike Rockenfeller
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	58:16.157
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2020 Nürburg Race 1		2020 Nürburgring Race 1

The 2020 Nürburg Race 2, formally known as the 2020 DTM Nürburg Race 2, was the tenth race of the 2020 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Nürburgring GP-Strecke in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on 13 September 2020. The race would see Robin Frijns secure victory, overhauling his teammate and Championship leader Nico Müller in the second half of the race.

Qualifying for the second race around the GP-Strecke saw Müller secure his second pole of the weekend, defeating Frijns by 0.138s in the duel between the Audi Team Abt cars. René Rast would trail them ahead of Mike Rockenfeller, while Loïc Duval and Jamie Green shared the third row to leave Sheldon van der Linde as the best BMW pilot on the grid in seventh.

The start of the race saw Müller ease into the lead unopposed, as Frijns had to fend off the attentions of Rast into turn one to hold second. Behind it was another tame start as everyone made it into the hairpin first corner and through the Mercedes complex without issue, with Audi retaining their top-six lockout.

Müller would power away in the early stages, leaving Frijns and Rast to scrap for second with Rast almost managing to sneak the #33 Audi ahead of the sister #4 car. Behind, however, it was a rather processional race with little action of note, with Rockenfeller holding fourth from Duval and Green, while van der Linde remained as the best BMW in the field.

Rast's challenge for second would fade as his tyres wore, allowing Frijns to escape and latch onto the back of Müller instead, although the Dutchman would ultimately be unable to get within a second of his teammate. The pitstop phase would subsequently open on lap eleven when Müller and Rast dived into the pits, with Frijns completing an additional tour before he made his stop for fresh Hankook tyres.

That exchange would see Müller's lead enhanced to three seconds, while Frijns dropped back into the sights of Rast before his tyres came up to temperature. However, once up to speed Frijns proved to be the quickest driver in the field, easing clear of Rast before closing in on teammate Müller for the lead.

Frijns' move was swift, the Dutchman firing the #4 car down the inside of the sister #51 ABT entry into the final corner to claim the lead. Müller opted not to resist and so Frijns was through, with the Swiss racer duly drifting back into the sights of Rast as Frijns charged away.

Rast caught Müller on lap 24, and would subsequently lunge past his title rival for second into turn one at the start of the following tour. Indeed, Müller was entering a free-fall as his tyres faded in the closing stages, with Rockenfeller and Duval also able to pass the #51 car without resistance.

With that the race was run, with Frijns cruising to his second win of the campaign, four seconds clear of Rast as both enhanced their bids for the title. Rockenfeller completed the podium ahead of Duval, while Müller resisted van der Linde on the final tour to secure fifth. Green was next up ahead of Jonathan Aberdein, while Marco Wittmann and Philipp Eng rounded out the scorers.

Background

There were no changes made to either the entry list or the Nürburgring GP-Strecke ahead of the DTM's second race of the weekend, with the conditions remaining dry and warm.

Müller Mastery

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.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 2020 Nürburg Race 2 is displayed below:

2020 Nürburg Race 2 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 2 are outlined below:

2020 Nürburg Race 2 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	1:46.958	—	173.271 km/h	1
2nd	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	1:47.096	+0.138s	173.048 km/h	2
3rd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:47.203	+0.245s	172.875 km/h	3
4th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:47.400	+0.442s	172.558 km/h	4
5th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:47.463	+0.505s	172.457 km/h	5
6th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:47.690	+0.732s	172.093 km/h	6
7th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	1:47.719	+0.761s	172.047 km/h	7
8th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	1:47.736	+0.778s	172.020 km/h	8
9th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	1:47.861	+0.903s	171.821 km/h	9
10th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:47.862	+0.904s	171.819 km/h	10
11th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	1:47.868	+0.910s	171.809 km/h	11
12th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	1:47.880	+0.922s	171.790 km/h	12
13th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	1:48.283	1:48.283	171.151 km/h	13
14th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	1:48.453	+1.495s	170.883 km/h	14
NC*	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	1:48.580			15
NC*	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	1:48.898			16
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Newey and von Habsburg had their lap times deleted.

Grid

The starting grid for the 2020 Nürburg Race 2 in shown below:

		10	Harrison Newey	—			22	Lucas Auer	1:48.283			25	Philipp Eng	1:47.868			8	Robert Kubica	1:47.861			31	Sheldon van der Linde	1:47.719			28	Loïc Duval	1:47.463			33	René Rast	1:47.203			51	Nico Müller	1:46.958
	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg		—		13	Fabio Scherer		1:48.453		16	Timo Glock		1:47.880		11	Marco Wittmann		1:47.862		27	Jonathan Aberdein		1:47.736		53	Jamie Green		1:47.690		99	Mike Rockenfeller		1:47.400		4	Robin Frijns		1:47.096

Race

Results

The final classification of the 2020 Nürburg Race 2 is displayed below:

2020 Nürburg Race 2 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	31	58:16.157	1:50.219	252
2nd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	31	+4.281s	1:50.948	181
3rd	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	31	+10.258s	1:51.320	15
4th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	31	+12.573s	1:50.747	12
5th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	31	+13.096s	1:50.514	103
6th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	31	+13.487s	1:50.489	8
7th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	31	+16.741s	1:50.600	6
8th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	31	+17.697s	1:50.810	4
9th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	31	+19.620s	1:50.785	2
10th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	31	+28.909s	1:51.316	1
11th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	31	+29.902s	1:50.444
12th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	31	+31.970s	1:51.645
13th	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	31	+34.899s	1:50.605
14th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	31	+43.837s	1:51.048
15th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	31	+56.394s	1:51.331
NC*	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	26	+5 Laps	1:51.169
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 unable to be classified as he failed to complete 90% of the race distance.

Milestones

• Second victory for Robin Frijns.

Standings

The Championship battle remained in Nico Müller's favour in-spite of his late-race pace collapse, the Swiss ace having been the first driver in 2020 to move past the 200 point mark. That left Müller 29 points clear of second placed Robin Frijns, while René Rast had moved 46 points behind in third. Loïc Duval and Mike Rockenfeller then completed the top five, while Sheldon van der Linde had moved up to lead the BMW faction in sixth.

Audi Team Abt continued to lead the way in the Teams' Championship, the German outfit having moved onto 381 points for the campaign. That left them 169 clear of Audi Team Rosberg in second, while Audi Team Phoenix were a distant third on 164. In the Manufacturers' Championship Audi still reigned supreme, the Ingolstadt marque having moved onto 690 points for the season to BMW's 290.

2020 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Nico Müller 205 ◄0 2nd Robin Frijns 176 ◄0 3rd René Rast 159 ◄0 4th Loïc Duval 85 ◄0 5th Mike Rockenfeller 79 ▲2 6th Sheldon van der Linde 72 ◄0 7th Timo Glock 68 ▼2 8th Marco Wittmann 61 ◄0 9th Jamie Green 53 ◄0 10th Lucas Auer 36 ◄0 11th Philipp Eng 31 ◄0 12th Jonathan Aberdein 24 ◄0 13th Ferdinand von Habsburg 19 ◄0 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 381 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Rosberg 212 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Phoenix 164 ◄0 4th BMW Team RMG 129 ◄0 5th BMW Team RBM 103 ◄0 6th BMW Team RMR 60 ◄0 7th Audi Team WRT 20 ◄0 8th BMW Team ART 1 ◄0 2020 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 690 ◄0 2nd BMW 290 ◄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: