Hockenheim - Auer wins Race 2, Lawson takes the lead

The German easily won at the end of the penultimate meeting of the season while the New Zealander took back control of the championship.

Published on 03/10/2021 à 15:19

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Hockenheim – Auer wins Race 2, Lawson regains lead

Second victory of the season for Lucas Auer. ©Mercedes AMG

No, Kelvin van der Linde will not have had a perfect weekend at Hockeinhem. Author of the two pole positions and winner of the first race on Saturday, the South African was damaged this Sunday, leaving the victory to Lucas Auer.

Starting 2nd, the German made an excellent start by outwitting his ABT Motorsport counterpart in the early stages of this Sunday meeting. Well helped by the fights in his mirrors, the Team Winward driver ultimately had a relatively calm race to score a second success this season, two weeks after that obtained on the Assen track in the Netherlands.

Second victory of the season! Luke #Auer wins Race 2 at the #Hockenheimring! @ LiamLawson30 comes home 2nd, @Max_Goetz we P3. #DTM # DTM2021 #WeLoveDTM #FeelTheRoar pic.twitter.com/0Pwr15skDi

— DTM (@DTM) October 3, 2021

But the most important fact in this Race 2 was ultimately the fight between Kelvin van der Linde and Liam Lawson which turned in favor of the latter city. Neck and neck in the hunt for the title, the two men found themselves in the fight from the first moments with a duel which did some damage and had a huge impact on the championship.

Passing in front of Kelvin van der Linde on the 2nd lap, Liam Lawson saw his enemy number 1 hit him from behind while he was defending his position. The sanction was immediate for the South African who received a five-second penalty from the race direction. A terrible blow for the ABT driver as the Kiwi escaped in front of him.

As if that wasn't enough, KVDL lost all hope of victory this Sunday during the pit stop salvo. Found guilty of crossing the white line at the exit of the pit lane, the ABT driver received a new sanction of 5 seconds which pushed him back to 10th position at the end of the race. A boon for its main competitor.

Meanwhile, Liam Lawson secured a good 2nd position which allows him to regain control of the championship after having lost it this Sunday morning to the detriment of Kelvin van der Linde. As a result, the AF Corse representative is 14 points ahead of his rival in the standings with only 2 races and 56 units remaining to be distributed. Maximilian Götz completed the podium in this 2nd event at Hockenheim.