Sheldon van der Linde crowned DTM champion, last for Marco Wittmann

Sheldon van der Linde, champion of DTM 2022! The South African was crowned at the end of a season full of suspense and twists and turns, with several drivers still in contention for the title before the final round. At 23, he became the 2nd youngest driver to win the crown in the German Touring Championship. Van der Linde resisted the pressure put on him by his opponents, René Rast and Lucas Auer, to place his BMW in 3rd place in Race 2. A result more than enough to take the title. Marco Wittmann won the last race of the season at Hockenheim, ahead of René Rast. Lucas Auer finished 7th.

DTM CHAMPION 2022: @SheldonvdLinde! 🏆🥇 CONGRATS!#DTM # DTM2022 #WeLoveDTM #FeelTheRoar pic.twitter.com/57FuUqbqAJ

- DTM (@DTM) October 9, 2022

Rast loses the advantage at the start

The day after the chaotic first race, with several violent accidents, a reduced field appeared on the grid. With 8 cars missing, only 19 cars took the start of the last race of the season. 

The drivers, much calmer than yesterday, set off without a hitch. From the first meters, Marco Wittmann got the better of the pole sitter, René Rast, thanks to the top speed of the BMW. A lackluster but solid start for Sheldon van der Linde a little further back, who managed to gain a position to start the 2nd round in 4th place. Lucas Auer, his main rival in the championship, finished the first loop in 8th place after starting 11th. The only alert in the peloton: a puncture for Engelhart, who went wide at the hairpin.

As the laps went by, Lucas Auer, handicapped by 25 kilos of ballast after his victory in Race 1 on Saturday, quickly found himself in difficulty. Overtaken by Müller and put under pressure by the drivers behind him, the Austrian did not have the pace to defend his championship chances. By stopping on the same lap as Sheldon van der Linde, as soon as the pit lane opened, Auer would have had no hope of challenging for the title in this last race of the season.

Van der Linde, perfect management

At the front, René Rast almost succeeded in his undercut against Marco Wittmann. The German, who was taking part in his last race with Audi in the DTM, took the provisional lead after his stop... before making a mistake by going too wide at the start of the straight and biting the grass. Thanks to the top speed of his BMW, Wittmann passed Rast again at the end of the straight.

Sheldon van der Linde, promoted to 3rd place after Schmid's retirement, only needed to manage the last 20 minutes of racing to claim his first DTM crown. Arriving as leader in this last race of the season, with only 2 points ahead of Lucas Auer, the South African managed his race and his BMW perfectly, far ahead of the Austrian, who finished 2nd in the drivers' standings. . René Rast, 2nd in Race 2, finished 3rd in the championship. Audi is crowned manufacturer champion and Schubert Motorsport has regained the title in the team standings.

Sheldon van der Linde ended a six-year winless run for BMW in the German championship, with the Munich brand last winning a championship in 2016 with Wittmann.

HE MADE IT!@SheldonvdLinde it's the 2022 @DTM Champion!

What a season, what a success!

Huge congratulations!@Team_Schubert pic.twitter.com/pCTtljLOwo

— BMW M Motorsport (@BMWMotorsport) October 9, 2022

The classification of Race 2 at Hockenheim: 

ALSO READ > Berger: “The DTM will not change to all-electric in the near future”