Spielberg – Race 1: Cassidy, him again!

And two for Nick Cassidy! The New Zealander, who won his first DTM race two weeks ago at Spa-Francorchamps, won again during Race 1 at Spielberg. The pilot Alpha Tauri AF Corse led the race from start to finish, having inherited pole position after application of the penalty for René Rast. The German, who started 4th, managed to move up a few places to finish in 2nd position and achieved the very good operation of the day for the championship. Another big winner of the day: Mirko Bortolotti, who took the 3rd step of the podium and the point for the best lap.

Is that the beginning of a winning streak? @NickCassidy_ wins Race 1 at the #DTMRedBullRing! @AFCorse #DTM # DTM2022 #WeLoveDTM #FeelTheRoar pic.twitter.com/Q4Y4uJrq7e

— DTM (@DTM) September 24, 2022

Hectic start to Spielberg

Nick Cassidy, who started in pole position, made an excellent start to escape from the first turns... and also to escape the mayhem behind him. Main victim of the first lap: Felipe Fraga, who suffered a puncture at turn 3 after contact at the left rear. A wasted race, the Brazilian quickly realized the facts and retired in the first laps, just like Dennis Olsen.

At the opening of the pit lane, Sheldon van der Linde, championship leader, took the gamble of stopping very early to make theundercut and move up a few positions. Lucas Auer also chose this option… but was penalized 10 seconds for speeding in the pits. Mikaël Grenier, started 22nd and penalized one drive-through at the start of the race, for a long time led the peloton of those who had already stopped by attempting a crazy bet, but the Quebecer finally had to give up 15 minutes from the end.

Excellent operation for Rast and Bortolotti

Dans le peloton, le spectacle a été assuré par Thomas Preining. Le pilote Porsche, incisif et agressif, a fait le show avec de multiples dépassements, parfois au-delà de la limite. L’Autrichien a pris une pénalité de 10s pour avoir tassé puis pour être allé au contact avec Nico Müller hors de la piste au virage 3. À l’avant, Cassidy, Rast et Bortolotti ont fait le choix de s’arrêter au dernier moment. Après les derniers passages aux stands, les positions sont restées les mêmes, même si Bortolotti a perdu un peu de temps lors de son arrêt. L’Italien a finalement sauvé sa 3e place en signant même le meilleur temps au tour de la course.

In the championship, it was a bad operation for leader Sheldon van der Linde. The South African failed to reach points in Spielberg and saw René Rast return to 13 points. Mirko Bortolotti moved up to 3rd place, 20 points behind the BMW driver.

The rankings for Race 1 at Spielberg: 

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