Wins for Wittmann, Rockenfeller in DTM's debut at TT Circuit Assen

Marco Wittmann (BMW) and Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) are the winners of two races in the first-ever visit of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters to the TT Circuit Assen in the Netherlands. It was the fifth round of the season. After ten races, Rene Rast remained in the championship lead.

On Saturday, Wittmann clinched his third win of the season and 14th DTM victory in a career. He shared a podium with Nico Muller (Audi) and Rene Rast (Audi).

On Sunday, Rockenfeller climbed to the top podium spot for the first time this year. It’s his sixth DTM victory in a career and the first since Zandvoort in 2017. Marco Wittmann and Nico Muller finished on a podium again.

Third win of the season for Marco Wittmann

On Saturday, Marco Wittmann won the race in wet conditions after starting from pole. He and main title rival Rene Rast were on a similar strategy while Nico Muller progressed through the field from P6 to the lead after cleverly gambling on a late stop for fresh rubber. However, coming out from pits on cold tyres, he was unable to resist Wittmann and has to be satisfied with the second place.

Rene Rast retained championship lead with the third-place finish, ahead of Philipp Eng (BMW). Other point scorers were Timo Glock (BMW),Jonathan Aberdein (Audi), Jamie Green (Audi), Loic Duval (Audi), Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) and Sheldon van der Linde (BMW).

Mike Rockenfeller’s #99 Audi

In Sunday’s race, Mike Rockenfeller has the best strategy and finally scored his first win in 2019, after finishing two times on a podium in previous rounds. Marco Wittmann progressed from the last place on the grid to P2. For Nico Muller, his third place is the sixth podium this year, including one victory.

Rene Rast was leading for most of the race but degrading tyres forced him to enter the pits for the second time, dropping to P5 in the end, behind rookie Jonathan Aberdein. Robin Frijns (Audi) finished sixth in front of his home crowd. Two Aston Martin drivers scored points, with Dani Juncadella seventh and Paul di Resta eighth. Audi drivers Jamie Green and Pietro Fittipaldi completed top 10.

After two podiums at Assen, Nico Muller stayed second in the championship standings, increasing a gap behind Rene Rast to 22 points (158:136). Marco Wittmann is third with 118 points.

The next DTM round is scheduled for August 10-11 at Brands Hatch.