DTM – Rockenfeller will “need time to realize”

With a lead of 26 points over Augusto Farfus at the end of the Zandvoort race, Mike Rockenfeller can celebrate a title which seemed acquired for several events. The Audi driver took second place at the start by overtaking the BMW of pole-sitter Marco Wittmann before protecting his position which assured him a sufficient number of points in the Championship. If the German loses for the second time in a row against the Brazilian, the main thing is done for the former winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans who becomes the first driver since Laurent Aiello to have won in Sarthe and in DTM.

“It’s fantastic to win the DTM title with one round left in the season”, comments Mike Rockenfeller who has been on the podium five times and who has constantly been in the points since the start of the season. “I think I'm going to need some time to realize what we've managed to do. I thank Audi, Team Phoenix as well as Timo (Scheider, who let him take second place after the second round of pit stops) who helped me a lot today. I was fast on my soft tires at the start of the race, but I lost ground after Augusto's first stop. After switching to standard tires it didn't go as well but it was still enough in the end. I am very proud of Audi and my team. After a difficult year last season, we worked hard over the winter to improve the car. The key to success is to have been consistently quick in scoring points. »

Audi managers are also pleased with this success which marks a great year for the manufacturer with the rings which also dominates the WEC face Toyota. De plus, la marque d’Ingolstadt se retrouve en tête du Championnat Constructeurs avec huit points d’avance sur BMW, tandis que le Team Phoenix qui engage également Miguel Molina (dixième de la course) dispose encore de trois unités d’avance sur le Team RBM qui fait rouler Augusto Farfus et Joey Hand (septième). “I warmly congratulate and thank Mike, Team Phoenix and the entire Audi team”, added Dieter Gass, Audi Sport DTM director. “Mike secured the title really quickly. We find ourselves at the top of the Manufacturers' and Teams' Championships, we couldn't have hoped for much more. Mike is a deserving champion who made no mistakes today despite the pressure. »

Discover the report of the DTM at Zandvoort produced by our special correspondent in issue 1929 of AUTOhebdo, available from Tuesday in digital version on all platforms, and from Wednesday on newsstands.