Rene Rast has won the 2019 DTM championship by finishing third in an exciting title decider, which was won by team-mate Jamie Green.
Rast started from second place and took the lead at the start, but was passed by Green during the pit stops. With Rast in second and Nico Müller stuck in fifth place, it seemed like the 2017 champion was set to add a second title to his resume, until a late charge by Robin Frijns threw the race on its head.
Frijns had made a late pit stop and shot up the field, passing Müller, Duval and eventually Rast to take second place. This brought the points difference between Rast and Müller to five, which would not be enough to win the championship. Those who counted on a title decider in Hockenheim, however, did not take Jonathan Aberdein into account.
The South African rookie added to an already strong weekend by executing a spectacular pass on Müller at the Veedol Chicane, taking fifth place and handing Rast a difference of seven points, which was exactly what he needed to claim the championship.
Ahead of the new champion, Jamie Green held off a hard charging Frijns to take a well deserved victory, with the Dutch driver even attempting a late overtake of his own at the Veedol Chicance, before running wide and handing the place back to Green. Loic Duval finished fourth, ahead of Aberdein, Müller, Mike Rockenfeller and Philipp Eng.
The top ten was completed by Timo Glock and Bruno Spengler, with the former completing a commendable comeback after he was spun round by Sheldon van der Linde on the second lap of the race. Van der Linde was handed a drive through penalty for his effort, and finished in last place.
Marco Wittmann did not complete the race, retiring with a mechanical issue on lap 29. Only 17 cars took the start, as Paul di Resta's mechanical issue from qualifiying was not fixed in time.
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