2020 Spa Race 2

2020 Spa Race 2
File:Circuit de Spa Francorchamps 2007.png The Spa circuit returned to the DTM calendar in 2020.
Race Information
Date	2 August 2020
No.	253
Event	DTM Spa-Francorchamps 2020
Location	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Stavelot, Liège, Belgium
Format	55 min + 1 lap
Lap length	7.004 km (4.352 mi)
Distance	26 laps / 182.104 km (113.154 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	René Rast
Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	2:04.199
Fastest Lap
Driver	René Rast
Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	2:08.715 on lap 16
Race Result
First	Second	Third
Nico Müller	Robin Frijns	René Rast
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline
Time	57:17.737
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2020 Spa Race 1		2020 Lausitz Race 1

The 2020 Spa Race 2, formally known as the 2020 DTM Spa-Francorchamps Race 2, was the second race of the 2020 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Liège, Belgium on 2 August 2020. The race would see Nico Müller sweep to his second win of the weekend, as Audi once again dominated both qualifying and the race.

René Rast was the man to beat in qualifying, with the German racer sweeping to his first pole of the season with a 2:04.199, a quarter of a second faster than Race 1 pole sitter Robin Frijns. Müller was next up in third, over half a second back from Rast, while Sheldon van der Linde was the fastest BMW driver having got into fourth ahead of Mike Rockenfeller.

The start of the race would see Rast ease into the lead from pole, as behind Müller went lunging past teammate Frijns into La Source to secure second. The Swiss racer then eyed up a move on Rast on the run to Eau Rouge but backed off, with the rest of the field settling in behind the lead trio of Audis largely in grid order.

Müller would eventually move into the lead, however, with the Swiss ace making an identical move to the one he made on Frijns in Race 1 to pass Rast into Les Combes on lap four. With that Müller would quickly scamper into a small lead, although Rast would manage to match the Swiss racer's pace and remain within a second of the sister #51 car.

However, tyre wear would again settle the fight for the lead, with Rast's tyres hitting trouble before Müller's, and hence see him slip steadily back into the sights of Frijns. Yet, the #33 Audi would manage to keep the #4 Audi at bay until Rast made his stop on lap thirteen, with Müller having already stopped while Frijns completed one more tour.

Rast subsequently lost time behind Marco Wittmann as the #11 BMW pilot attempted to make a long first stint last, although once clear the #33 Audi was quickly back on terms with Müller. On lap 21 Rast duly moved back ahead of Müller with the aid of Push-to-Pass on the run to Les Combes, although Müller remained glued to his tail.

Those two would duly finish the race nose-to-tail, with Müller just unable to get back ahead of Rast as the German racer claimed victory. Frijns chased them across the line to complete an all Audi podium lock-out, with Jamie Green completing his second back to front charge of the weekend to finish fourth ahead of Rockenfeller. van der Linde was best BMW in sixth ahead of Loïc Duval, the sixth Audi in the top ten, with Lucas Auer, Jonathan Aberdein and Wittmann rounding out the scorers for the Bavarian marque.

After the race, however, the officials would investigate Rast's use of Push-to-Pass as part of the usual post-race checks staged a week after the race. The German racer was found to have used the system illegally while defending from Müller, resulting in the #33 taking a ten second time penalty that relegated him to third, and handed Müller the victory ahead of Frijns.

Background

There would be no changes made to the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps for the second race of the delayed opening weekend, with the weather also remaining consistent. Furthermore, there was good news for Ferdinand von Habsburg as he was cleared to start after sitting out the Opening Race, although Team WRT were still completing the rebuild of his car as the DTM action resumed on Sunday morning.

Delayed Delights

Nico Müller would lead the Drivers' Championship after the opening day, the Swiss ace having claimed victory and second on the grid to secure 27 points. Jamie Green was his closest challenger in second, nine behind, while Loïc Duval would sit in third three behind Green. Mike Rockenfeller was next up ahead of René Rast, with Philipp Eng, Lucas Auer, Robin Frijns, Timo Glock and Jonathan Aberdein the other first day scorers.

In the Teams' Championship Audi Team Abt would lead the charge after the opening race, the German squad having claimed 32 points in the first race. That left them three ahead of fellow Audi squad Audi Team Rosberg, with Audi Team Phoenix a further two behind in third. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had secured a handsome lead, the Ingolstadt marque having claimed 76 points in race one.

Entry List

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

2020 Spa 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 Spa Race 2 are outlined below:

2020 Spa Race 2 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	2:04.199	—	203.016 km/h	1
2nd	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	2:04.484	+0.285s	202.551 km/h	2
3rd	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	2:04.797	+0.598s	202.043 km/h	3
4th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	2:04.987	+0.788s	201.736 km/h	4
5th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	2:05.198	+0.999s	201.396 km/h	5
6th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	2:05.383	+1.184s	201.099 km/h	6
7th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	2:05.535	+1.336s	200.855 km/h	7
8th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	2:05.691	+1.492s	200.606 km/h	8
9th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	2:05.701	+1.502s	200.590 km/h	9
10th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	2:05.738	+1.539s	200.531 km/h	10
11th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	2:06.003	+1.804s	200.109 km/h	11
12th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	2:06.169	+1.970s	199.846 km/h	12
13th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	2:06.305	+2.106s	199.631 km/h	13
14th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	2:06.612	+2.413s	199.147 km/h	14
15th	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	2:06.705	+2.506s	199.000 km/h	15
NC*	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	—			16
Source:

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * von Habsburg failed to set a representative lap time in qualifying but was allowed to start at the stewards' discretion.

Grid

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

		10	Harrison Newey	2:06.705			28	Loïc Duval	2:06.305			27	Jonathan Aberdein	2:06.003			11	Marco Wittmann	2:05.701			16	Timo Glock	2:05.535			99	Mike Rockenfeller	2:05.198			51	Nico Müller	2:04.797			33	René Rast	2:04.199
	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg		—		13	Fabio Scherer		2:06.612		8	Robert Kubica		2:06.169		22	Lucas Auer		2:05.738		53	Jamie Green		2:05.691		25	Philipp Eng		2:05.383		31	Sheldon van der Linde		2:04.987		4	Robin Frijns		2:04.484

Race

Results

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

2020 Spa Race 2 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	26	57:17.737	2:08.850	251
2nd	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	26	+4.910s	2:09.496	182
3rd*	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	26	+9.517s	2:08.715	153
4th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	26	+10.597s	2:09.679	12
5th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	26	+22.952s	2:10.000	10
6th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	26	+23.635s	2:10.538	8
7th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	26	+26.645s	2:10.578	6
8th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	26	+42.615s	2:11.091	4
9th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	26	+43.290s	2:10.206	2
10th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	26	+46.319s	2:09.791	1
11th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	26	+47.266s	2:10.840
12th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	26	+49.831s	2:11.045
13th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	26	+53.723s	2:11.510
14th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	26	+1:29.962	2:12.190
15th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	26	+1:48.754	2:10.511
Ret	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	12	Retired	2:10.394
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 retroactively awarded a ten second time penalty for illegal use of Push-to-Pass while leading.

Milestones

• Sixth career victory for Nico Müller.

Standings

Nico Müller would end the opening weekend of the season just three points off of a maximum score, the Swiss racer having claimed 53 points with two wins. Jamie Green was his closest challenger in second, already 23 off the lead, with René Rast having opened his title campaign in third a point behind his teammate. Robin Frijns, Mike Rockenfeller and Loïc Duval then made it an all-Audi top six, with Lucas Auer the best BMW pilot in seventh.

In the Teams' Championship Audi Team Abt would end the opening weekend with an impressive tally of 78 points, after their one-two in the second race at Spa. Audi Team Rosberg were next up ahead of Audi Team Phoenix, while BMW Team RBM occupied fourth, 62 off the early leaders. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi were already in complete control, 118 points ahead of BMW.

 

2020 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Nico Müller 53 ◄0 2nd Jamie Green 30 ◄0 3rd René Rast 29 ▲2 4th Robin Frijns 25 ▲4 5th Mike Rockenfeller 22 ▼1 6th Loïc Duval 21 ▼3 7th Lucas Auer 10 ◄0 8th Philipp Eng 8 ▼2 9th Sheldon van der Linde 8 ▲6 10th Timo Glock 4 ▼1 11th Jonathan Aberdein 3 ▼1 12th Marco Wittmann 1 ▼1 13th Fabio Scherer 0 ▼1 14th Harrison Newey 0 ▼1 15th Robert Kubica 0 ▼1 16th Ferdinand von Habsburg 0 ◄0

2020 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Abt 78 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Rosberg 59 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Phoenix 43 ◄0 4th BMW Team RBM 16 ◄0 5th BMW Team RMR 13 ◄0 6th BMW Team RMG 5 ◄0 7th Audi Team WRT 0 ◄0 8th BMW Team ART 0 ◄0 2020 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 152 ◄0 2nd BMW 34 ◄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: