Oschersleben - Jack Aitken wins race 1 by KO

The Emil Frey Racing driver takes his second DTM victory. Marco Wittmann should have won, but the BMW driver was forced to retire five minutes from the checkered flag. Aitken takes the podium ahead of Bortolotti and Feller.

Published on 27/04/2024 à 15:21

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Oschersleben – Jack Aitken wins race 1 by knockout

©DTM Media

It is common knowledge that overtaking on the turnstile at Oschersleben Motorsport Park is a luxury that few drivers manage to afford. Jack Aitken knows it when he starts from pole position for the opening race of the 2024 season. The Briton gets off to an excellent start, managing to control the ambitions of the official Lamborghini driver, Mirko Bortolotti, who remains in the wake of the Ferrari from English. The good start is Ricardo Feller (Abt Sportline- Audi R8LMS) who takes it. From the first turns, the Swiss climbed onto the provisional podium of the race at the expense of beginner Arjun Maini (Team HRT- Mercedes AMG GT).

Marco Wittman plays it nice

Schubert motorsport driver Marco Wittmann started from 19th place. When the pit stop window opens, the leaders wait two laps before entering the pitlane. Bortolotti stopping a lap before Aitken. The Italian fails to make the difference with the race leader. Feller even drops him one place. The refueling salvo is about to end and Wittman, in the lead of the race, has still not stopped. Fate then gives him a little help. There Mclaren of Ben Dörr (Dörr Motorsport) loses his right rear wheel. The entire circuit is then neutralized under full course Yellow. Wittmann made his pit stop and managed to maintain the lead ahead of Aitken and Feller.

When the safety car, mounted on the track, faded, Wittmann managed to resist Aitken despite his tires being a little colder than those of the Briton. Bortolotti regained his place on the podium against Feller who had nevertheless been hyper aggressive at the “restart” of the race. The Schubert driver at the wheel of his green M4 GT3 seems to be heading towards his third victory in DTM. A few minutes before the end of the race, he suddenly let the entire peloton pass and left his car to slowly die along the pit wall. The last safety will not change anything, Jack Aitken wins his second victory in DTM and opens his season perfectly by managing to control drivers such as Mirko Bortolotti and Ricardo Feller who accompany him on the podium. Sheldon van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport- BMW M4 GT3) is 4th and Thomas Preining, the reigning champion, has made a good comeback to 10th position.