Kelvin van der Linde has equalled Liam Lawson in the DTM championship standings with a controlled Saturday victory at Hockenheim.
The South African driver started the race from pole position in his Abt Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo and took a unthreatened win.
The victory has brought Van der Linde back level in the championship standings with title rival Liam Lawson, with both drivers now having scored 188 points.
Lawson’s team-mate Alex Albon finished the race in second place, with Mike Rockenfeller demoting Lawson to fourth after a contact-heavy battle for third place on the final lap of the race.
Maximilian Götz finished the race in fifth, ahead of Esteban Muth, Daniel Juncadella and Philip Ellis.
The top ten was rounded by Vincent Abril and Timo Glock.
Lawson, Rockenfeller clash for third
The final lap of the race at Hockenheim saw Liam Lawson fight a physical battle with Mike Rockenfeller for third that ultimately saw the experienced German coming out on top.
The two drivers were side by side for a significant portion of the lap and made contact multiple times before Rockenfeller managed to get his Audi ahead of Lawson’s Ferrari.
The Red Bull junior appeared none too pleased with Rockenfeller’s driving, as TV footage showed Lawson confronting his rival in parc fermé immediately after the race.
Rockenfeller’s overtake was crucial in the championship battle, because Lawson would have remained championship leader had he finished on the podium.
Instead, Lawson’s fourth place resulted in him scoring three points less than he would have for third. Meanwhile, the 28 points Kelvin van der Linde scored from taking pole position and going on to win has allowed the two drivers to draw level in the standings with just three races left to be contested.
First lap chaos damages Wittmann’s title hopes
Marco Wittmann has suffered a major blow to his championship hopes, having to retire as a result of damage suffered from a lap one pile-up between Lucas Auer and Arjun Maini.
Maini smashed his GetSpeed Mercedes into the side of Auer’s car at the hairpin on lap one, causing chaos amongst the midfield pack. Maini retired on the spot with Auer following suit not much later.
Wittmann, who had started thirteenth after struggling in qualifying, was one of the drivers caught up in the melee and suffered damage to his BMW M6 GT3. A second collision after the safety car restart caused further damage, and after a difficult race, Walkenhorst Motorsport opted to retire the German, leaving him to score no points.
As a result, Wittmann remains on 165 points in the championship fight, now trailing Lawson and Van der Linde by 23 points.
| # | Driver | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kelvin van der Linde | Audi R8 LMS Evo | |
| 2 | Alex Albon | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 5.886 |
| 3 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 15.601 |
| 4 | Liam Lawson | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 17.233 |
| 5 | Maximilian Götz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 17.940 |
| 6 | Esteban Muth | BMW M6 GT3 | 18.779 |
| 7 | Daniel Juncadella | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 19.966 |
| 8 | Philip Ellis | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 21.119 |
| 9 | Vincent Abril | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 28.817 |
| 10 | Timo Glock | BMW M6 GT3 | 36.432 |
| 11 | Marvin Dienst | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 39.674 |
| 12 | Sophia Flörsch | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 40.662 |
| 13 | Esmee Hawkey | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 44.633 |
| 14 | Hubert Haupt | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 46.641 |
| 15 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1’02.029 |
| 16 | Dev Gore | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1’03.246 |
| 17 | Nico Müller | Audi R8 LMS Evo | DNF |
| 18 | Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M6 GT3 | DNF |
| 19 | Marco Wittmann | BMW M6 GT3 | DNF |
| 20 | Lucas Auer | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | DNF |
| 21 | Arjun Maini | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | DNF |
