DTM made its second stop outside of Germany at the Red Bull Ring in Austria and it was the best weekend Indian driver Arjun Maini has had in the championship till now. The Mercedes driver scored his maiden Pole Position and went on to score 2 podiums that weekend.
Saturday: Maini takes his first pole as Bortolotti takes his first win
Saturday was a historic day for Indian Motorsports as Arjun Maini became the first Indian to score a pole position in DTM.
It was a day of firsts as Marko Bortolotti scored his first win of the season, propelling him to the top of the DTM standings. The Lamborghini driver from SSR Performance expertly handled tricky weather conditions, choosing rain tires at the start and commanding the race early on. He overtook Arjun Maini and Maro Engel to build an impressive lead, securing victory despite late pressure from Engel. This win, Bortolotti’s fourth DTM triumph, positions him as the title favourite with just three races remaining.
Engel followed closely in second, while Maini finished third after starting from pole. Luca Stolz secured fourth, completing a strong day for Mercedes-AMG, while Ayhancan Güven delivered a remarkable charge to fifth place. Former championship leader Kelvin van der Linde climbed from 17th to eighth, now trailing Bortolotti by just ten points. René Rast and Ricardo Feller rounded out the top ten in a race dominated by strategic tire choices amid evolving track conditions.
“That was probably the best victory of my life. We made the right decision and opted for rain tires at the beginning. I knew that if I was clever and kept the tires in a good window for a long time, I could open up a gap. I managed that,” said Bortolotti
Maro Engel and Arjun Maini in Red Bull Ring Race 1 (Photo: Gruppe C Photography)
Sunday: René Rast Triumphs Again at Red Bull Ring to take his 28th Career Victory
René Rast continued his dominance at the Red Bull Ring, winning the 14th DTM race of the season on Sunday for his 28th career victory. The BMW works driver from Schubert Motorsport executed a brilliant strategy, moving from fourth to first despite a poor start. His main rival, Thomas Preining in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, finished second after a relentless chase. Arjun Maini impressed again, securing third. Championship leader Mirko Bortolotti finished fourth, extending his lead by 15 points with just a few races left.
Pole-setter Bortolotti initially led but was overtaken by Rast after pit stops shuffled the order. Preining and Maini also overtook the Lamborghini driver, with Kelvin van der Linde finishing fifth. Sheldon van der Linde claimed sixth for BMW, while Ayhancan Güven and Maro Engel placed seventh and eighth. Franck Perera finished ninth, with Ferrari’s Jack Aitken rounding out the top ten.
“It was an action-packed, hard-fought race. The podium feels even better than the one on Saturday because I was able to work my way up from eighth place on the grid to third place. The decisive factor was that I got my tires up to the right temperature quickly after the pit stop.” – Arjun Maini after Race 2
With only a few races left, the battle for the DTM championship remains fierce, and all eyes will be on Bortolotti, Rast, and van der Linde as the season reaches its climax. DTM heads next to Hockenheimring for the final round of the weekend from 18-20th October.
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