2020 Zolder I Race 2

2020 Zolder I Race 2
The Circuit Zolder returned to the DTM in 2020.
Race Information
Date	11 October 2020
No.	265
Event	DTM Zolder I 2020
Location	Circuit Zolder Heusden-Zolder, Limburg, Belgium
Format	55 min + 1 lap
Lap length	4.011 km (2.492 mi)
Distance	41 laps / 164.451 km (102.185 mi)
Qualifying Result
Pole Sitter	Timo Glock
Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	1:28.960
Fastest Lap
Driver	Marco Wittmann
Team	BMW Team RMG
Time	1:20.263 on lap 31
Race Result
First	Second	Third
René Rast	Mike Rockenfeller	Lucas Auer
Winner Team	Audi Sport Team Rosberg
Time	59:46.849
Race Guide
Previous		Next
2020 Zolder I Race 1		2020 Zolder II Race 1

The 2020 Zolder I Race 2, otherwise known as the 2020 DTM Zolder I Race 2, was the fourteenth race of the 2020 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship, staged at the Circuit Zolder in Heusden-Zolder, Limburg, Belgium, on 11 October 2020. The race would see René Rast sweep to victory, after a stunning start saw him snatch the lead before the first corner.

Qualifying saw BMW achieve something that they had not done at all in 2020, as Timo Glock swept to pole position for BMW Team RMG ahead of stablemate Sheldon van der Linde. Behind the BMWs would be Rast as the lead Audi pilot ahead of Ferdinand von Habsburg, while title pretenders Nico Müller and Robin Frijns shared the fourth row.

The start of the race saw Rast make an excellent start, darting between both Glock and van der Linde before the first corner to secure the lead. von Habsburg followed the sister #33 Audi through to second, only to be tagged by Glock as they hit the brakes for the first corner which sent both sliding into the gravel.

As von Habsburg and Glock scrambled back onto the circuit at the back of the field, Mike Rockenfeller moved into second, while van der Linde slotted into third ahead of Müller and Frijns. Frijns would go on to steal the show in the opening stages, moving past teammate Müller and van der Linde to run in third, before briefly harassing Rockenfeller for second.

After getting stuck behind Rockenfeller, Frijns made the decision to make an early pitstop, diving in for fresh tyres at the end of lap eleven. That, however, would prove to be his undoing, for on cold tyres the #4 Audi would slide into the barriers exiting the pitlane after his stop, causing terminal damage to his steering.

So hobbled was Frijns' car that the Dutchman had to stop on track, triggering a Safety Car as the leaders were coming up towards the end of the lap. Rast and Rockenfeller took the opportunity to make their stops, along with most of the rest of the field, with Müller one of the few to gamble on not using the SC period to pit.

At the restart Müller did his best to break clear, although the Swiss ace was unable to make the progress he needed to ensure he rejoined in the lead group. Müller would subsequently drop to eighth when he made his stop, although armed with fresh Hankook rubber the #51 Audi was expected to make significant progress in the closing stages.

It was not to be for the Championship leader, however, with Müller's pace ultimately proving very disappointing as he failed to make ground. Furthermore, Müller would even lose a place to Marco Wittmann in the closing stages of the race, who had himself been delayed after having to make a second stop after his first was not counted as his mandatory one.

Out front, meanwhile, Rast remained in control of the race to secure his fourth victory of the season, five seconds clear of Rockenfeller in second. Lucas Auer completed the podium in third ahead of Glock, who benefitted massively from the SC intervention, while Fabio Scherer led the Audi Team WRT trio to fifth, sixth and seventh. Wittmann was next up having recorded fastest lap ahead of Müller, while van der Linde rounded out the scorers in tenth.

Background

There would be no modifications made to the Circuit Zolder for the second race of the weekend, although the rain would return to affect the morning's qualifying session.

Zolder Starts

Nico Müller had retained the lead in the title hunt after his run to third in the opening race at Circuit Zolder, although his advantage had been reduced by his two closest challengers. Indeed, Robin Frijns had closed the gap to fourteen points between the lead duo in the title hunt, while René Rast had moved 34 behind the Swiss ace after his dominant victory in third. Sheldon van der Linde was next up as the lead BMW pilot, sat on 96 points, with Mike Rockenfeller next up in fifth after overhauling teammate Loïc Duval.

In the Teams' Championship Audi Team Abt had, as ever, extended their advantage atop the table as they continued their inevitable march to the title, the German squad smashing through the 500 point mark after the thirteenth race of the campaign. That left them 224 points clear of Audi Team Rosberg, with only 240 points left to fight for over the remaining five races, while Audi Team Phoenix were 321 points behind in third. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had out-scored BMW for the thirteenth straight race, as they extended their title winning margin to 519 points.

Entry List

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

2020 Zolder I 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 Zolder I Race 2 are outlined below:

2020 Zolder I Race 2 Qualifying Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed	Grid
1st	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	1:28.960	—	161.870 km/h	1
2nd	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	1:28.983	+0.023s	161.828 km/h	2
3rd	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	1:29.130	+0.170s	161.561 km/h	3
4th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	1:29.269	+0.309s	161.310 km/h	4
5th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	1:29.336	+0.376s	161.189 km/h	5
6th	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	1:29.473	+0.513s	160.942 km/h	6
7th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	1:29.494	+0.534s	160.904 km/h	7
8th	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	1:29.564	+0.604s	160.778 km/h	8
9th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	1:29.761	+0.801s	160.426 km/h	9
10th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	1:29.765	+0.805s	160.418 km/h	10
11th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	1:29.787	+0.827s	160.379 km/h	11
12th	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	1:29.902	+0.942s	160.174 km/h	12
13th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	1:30.037	+1.077s	159.934 km/h	13
14th	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	1:30.095	+1.135s	159.831 km/h	14
15th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	1:30.228	+1.268s	159.595 km/h	15
16th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	1:30.418	+1.458s	159.260 km/h	16
Source:

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

Grid

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

		25	Philipp Eng	1:30.228			8	Robert Kubica	1:30.037			28	Loïc Duval	1:29.787			27	Jonathan Aberdein	1:29.761			51	Nico Müller	1:29.494			53	Jamie Green	1:29.336			33	René Rast	1:29.130			16	Timo Glock	1:28.960
	13	Fabio Scherer		1:30.418		10	Harrison Newey		1:30.095		22	Lucas Auer		1:29.902		11	Marco Wittmann		1:29.765		4	Robin Frijns		1:29.564		99	Mike Rockenfeller		1:29.473		62	Ferdinand von Habsburg		1:29.269		31	Sheldon van der Linde		1:28.983

Race

Results

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

2020 Zolder I Race 2 Result
Pos.	No.	Name	Team	Laps	Race Time	Fastest lap	Pts.
1st	33	René Rast	Audi Team Rosberg	41	59:46.849	1:21.046	251
2nd	99	Mike Rockenfeller	Audi Team Phoenix	41	+5.433s	1:20.980	18
3rd	22	Lucas Auer	BMW Team RMR	41	+22.272s	1:21.320	15
4th	16	Timo Glock	BMW Team RMG	41	+31.603s	1:21.346	123
5th	13	Fabio Scherer	Audi Team WRT	41	+32.018s	1:21.892	10
6th	10	Harrison Newey	Audi Team WRT	41	+33.787s	1:21.241	8
7th	62	Ferdinand von Habsburg	Audi Team WRT	41	+34.304s	1:21.522	6
8th	11	Marco Wittmann	BMW Team RMG	41	+40.627s	1:20.263	4
9th	51	Nico Müller	Audi Team Abt	41	+41.182s	1:20.757	2
10th	31	Sheldon van der Linde	BMW Team RBM	41	+54.280s	1:21.129	12
11th	27	Jonathan Aberdein	BMW Team RMR	41	+1:07.911	1:20.513
12th	8	Robert Kubica	BMW Team ART	41	+1:19.380	1:21.590
13th	28	Loïc Duval	Audi Team Phoenix	40	+1 Lap	1:20.348
14th	25	Philipp Eng	BMW Team RBM	40	+1 Lap	1:21.363
15th	53	Jamie Green	Audi Team Rosberg	40	+1 Lap	1:20.929
Ret	4	Robin Frijns	Audi Team Abt	11	Accident	1:20.825
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

• Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline declared as the 2020 DMSB Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Championship for Teams' Champions.
• 21st win for René Rast.
• Maiden points finish for Fabio Scherer.

Standings

In the Drivers' Championship it had been a good weekend for defending Champion René Rast, for two victories moved the German ace to within ten points of leader Nico Müller. Indeed, the Swiss ace had just maintained his margin atop the Championship hunt, while teammate Robin Frijns had lost ground but remained a threat in third, sixteen behind. Mike Rockenfeller was next up ahead of Timo Glock, while at the bottom of the field Fabio Scherer's first points finish meant all sixteen regular drivers had scored in 2020.

Audi Team Abt were outscored for the first time in 2020, although that did not prevent them from securing the Teams' Championship with four races to spare. Indeed, the German squad were 200 points clear of sister squad Audi Team Rosberg, meaning that they had an unassailable lead given that there were only 192 points left to fight for. In the Manufacturers' Championship, meanwhile, Audi had marched on towards the 1,000 point mark, as they further enhanced their title winning margin.

2020 Drivers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Nico Müller 259 ◄0 2nd René Rast 249 ▲1 3rd Robin Frijns 243 ▼1 4th Mike Rockenfeller 109 ▲1 5th Timo Glock 102 ▲2 6th Sheldon van der Linde 99 ▼2 7th Marco Wittmann 90 ▲1 8th Loïc Duval 88 ▼2 9th Jamie Green 53 ◄0 10th Lucas Auer 51 ▲2 11th Ferdinand von Habsburg 47 ◄0 12th Philipp Eng 45 ▼2 13th Jonathan Aberdein 33 ◄0 14th Harrison Newey 11 ◄0 15th Fabio Scherer 10 ▲1 16th Robert Kubica 1 ▼1

2020 Teams' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi Team Abt 502 ◄0 2nd Audi Team Rosberg 302 ◄0 3rd Audi Team Phoenix 197 ◄0 4th BMW Team RMG 192 ◄0 5th BMW Team RBM 144 ◄0 6th BMW Team RMR 84 ◄0 7th Audi Team WRT 70 ◄0 8th BMW Team ART 1 ◄0 2020 Manufacturers' Championship Pos. Name Pts. +/- 1st Audi 961 ◄0 2nd BMW 417 ◄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: