The first race of the DTM in Imola has had two focuses of attention, something that has also drawn two winners. On the one hand, René Rast has achieved his first victory in the GT3 era of the DTM with a solid performance reminiscent of the pilot who won the title three times. For another, Mirko Bortolotti has given his compatriots a great comeback that has taken him from 16th to the podium, only behind Rast and Nico Müller. The ‘top 5’ of the race was completed by Thomas Preining and Kelvin Van der Linde.
René Rast managed to retain the first position against Nico Müller. The Swiss pressed the German and only the starting position inside played in favor of Rast. Thomas Preining held third place ahead of Clemens Schmid, while Kelvin Van der Linde with a great start climbed to fifth place ahead of Marco Wittmann and Sheldon Van der Linde. Behind, Mirko Bortolotti began his particular comeback after starting 16th due to a 10-position penalty for the incorrect use of a tire in FP2.
Although Timo Glock was the first to pit for retirement due to damage to his BMW M4 GT3 after the first lap, the stops were not long in coming. In fact, René Rast, Thomas Preining, Marco Wittmann, Dennis Olsen and Lucas Auer were the first to carry out the mandatory tire change. Nico Müller, Clemens Schmid, Sheldon Van der Linde and Laurens Vanthoor followed in his footsteps. Movement that went in favor of Rastsince he kept the first place ahead of Müller and got a certain advantage with the Swiss driver.
Kelvin Van der Linde and Ricardo Feller were in front by choosing to lengthen his first stint, just like Mirko Bortolotti. The South African entered the pitlane a couple of laps later and although he started ahead of Thomas Preining, the Austrian from Porsche masterfully overtook the South African. With everything, Kelvin won the position over Clemens Schmidbeginning a phase of the race with a certain calm until the nine drivers who had not yet completed the procedure in the pitlane began to do so.
Mirko Bortolotti was almost the last driver to stopbut a problem changing the front right tire of his Lamborghini dropped him to eighth place, just behind Marco Wittmann. Thus, René Rast was once again at the head of the race with more than four seconds ahead of Nico Müller, income obtained in the pit lane. Thomas Preinig, Kelvin Van der Linde and Ricardo Feller completed the new ‘top 5’ of the race after beating the last two Clemens Schmid at the stop.
The final stretch of the race did not offer emotion in the lead and René Rast got a comfortable victory over Nico Müller. Another story was the battle for third position, since Mirko Bortolotti managed to complete his comeback to third place. On newer tyres, the Lamborghini driver left Marco Wittmann, Clemens Schmid, Kelvin Van der Linde and Thomas Preining behind to conquer a new podium that brings him closer to the leadership of the seriesalthough with a special flavor for being before his public.
Results race 1 of the DTM 2022 in Imola
Photos: DTM