Maximilian Götz has won the DTM title after a frenetic race, with fellow title rivals Kelvin van der Linde and Liam Lawson colliding on the first lap after starting from the front row.
Lawson pulled away as the lights went out, but heading towards the hairpin first corner, K. van der Linde divebombed Lawson. While the South African managed to get away scot-free, Lawson’s steering was damaged and he had to return to the pits, dropping many laps down on the sub 1-minute lap street circuit in the process.
This meant K. van der Linde had to win the race to win the championship, with Lawson out of the picture and out of the points.
But Götz had managed to move up to fourth in the chaos, and K. van der Linde got a five second penalty for his role in the first corner collision.
In the meantime, Lucas Auer and Philip Ellis had moved into first and second. For much of the race Götz sat net third behind these two, but in the closing stages, they, as fellow Mercedes-AMG drivers, let Götz through so he could take the win and subsequently the championship, by three points from Lawson.
Mike Rockenfeller finished his final DTM race for Audi in fourth after 15 years with the brand. Daniel Juncadella came home fifth, with Arjun Maini in sixth. Marco Wittmann finished seventh, while Vincent Abril took eighth and Sophia Flörsch finished ninth.
Philip Ellis took the last point, after he collided with Lawson’s teammate, 13th-place Nick Cassidy as the latter desperately tried to make his way through from fifth in the final stages to stop Götz winning the race and the championship. But the two collided at the first corner hairpin in the closing laps, damaging both cars.
Timo Glock finished 11th, with Lucas di Grassi in 12th. Cassidy finished 13th, while Dev Gore finished 14th. Nico Müller came home 15th, with Sheldon van der Linde 16th, and his brother Kelvin van der Linde in 17th as his title hopes faded after the first corner.
A heartbroken Lawson finished 18th and last of the runners, with Esmee Hawkey and Esteban Muth retiring.
| # | Driver | Car | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maximilian Götz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | |
| 2 | Lucas Auer | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 0.869 |
| 3 | Maximilian Buhk | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 5.339 |
| 4 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 6.395 |
| 5 | Daniel Juncadella | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 9.310 |
| 6 | Arjun Maini | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 12.012 |
| 7 | Marco Wittmann | BMW M6 GT3 | 15.932 |
| 8 | Vincent Abril | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 17.811 |
| 9 | Sophia Flörsch | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 22.657 |
| 10 | Philip Ellis | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 24.700 |
| 11 | Timo Glock | BMW M6 GT3 | 24.974 |
| 12 | Lucas di Grassi | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 41.792 |
| 13 | Nick Cassidy | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 1 Lap |
| 14 | Dev Gore | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1 Lap |
| 15 | Nico Müller | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1 Lap |
| 16 | Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M6 GT3 | 1 Lap |
| 17 | Kelvin van der Linde | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1 Lap |
| 18 | Liam Lawson | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 24 Laps |
| 19 | Esmee Hawkey | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 37 Laps |
| 20 | Esteban Muth | BMW M6 GT3 | 66 Laps |
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