The DTM season closed out its 2024 season with a pair of races at the Hockenheimring in Germany this past weekend, with Rene Rast getting a podium finish in the final race and Schubert Motorsport winning the team championship.
BMW has been inconsistent in the DTM championship this season. They didn’t get any of their three cars on the podium in the first four races at Hockenheim or the Lausitzring, but then were on the podium in both races at Zandvoort, with Marco Wittmann getting BMWs first win of the year. BMW drivers won a race each at the Norisring (René Rast) and the Nürburgring (Sheldon van der Linde), but then were uncompetitive at the Sachsenring. Rast then won again at the Red Bull Ring.
None of the three BMW drivers were in the hunt for a driver’s championship in the final two races at the Hockenheimring, and they were not a factor in race one, with Rast in seventh, Wittmann in ninth and van der Linde in eleventh as the race was won by Sheldon’s brother Kelvin in an Audi. In race two, Rast was the top qualifier of the BMWs in eleventh and worked his way up into third in the final race, behind the Lamborghinis of Luca Engstler and Mirko Bortolotti, who won the drivers championship.
BMW team Schubert Motorsport won the team championship and BMW finished third in the manufacturer’s championship behind Mercedes-AMG and Lamborghini. Rast was the top BMW driver in fourth in the driver’s championship. “We got the maximum out of the situation and, thanks to a good strategy and a fast pit stop, worked our way from eleventh into third place,” said Rast. “However, we are not happy with fourth place in the championship. We were simply not good enough in qualifying. Unfortunately, that meant we never really had a chance of winning the title. However, winning the team competition is a great success. I am pleased for the guys, who did a fantastic job.”
Rene Rast was on the podium in the final race.
For the season, BMW had seven podiums in sixteen races, including four wins. The 2025 DTM season opens on the weekend of April 25th-27th at Oschersleben.
—David Haueter
[Photos courtesy Gruppe C Photography]
