Cadillac GTP driver Jack Aitken got his 2024 DTM campaign with Emil Frey Racing off to a perfect start today, taking pole and winning the first race of the season in Oschersleben.
Initially, it appeared that Aitken would control the first race from lights to flag. However, Schubert BMW driver Marco Wittmann put a spanner in the works, taking the lead after a clever pit stop.
His lead would not last though, as a technical issue caused him to slow and stop on track four minutes before the end of the race. Aitken then re-inherited the lead after 39 laps of racing, claiming his second DTM victory ahead of SSR Performance’s Mirko Bortolotti and ABT Audi driver Ricardo Feller.
“I am just happy to have won the race. Marco Wittmann gambled with a late pit stop. At first I could not believe that I had lost the lead. Then the tables turned again in the final few minutes. Despite the bizarre circumstances, I believe that the win was fully deserved,” said Aitken after the race.
28-year-old Aitken made a great start on Saturday afternoon and soon set about pulling clear of the opposition. Behind him, Bortolotti and Feller settled into second and third place, followed by Arjun Maini and Schubert’s Sheldon van der Linde. The Ferrari driver maintained his lead after the mandatory pit stop, while Feller and Bortolotti swapped places.
The lead change occurred with 25 minutes remaining after the McLaren of DTM rookie Ben Dörr lost a wheel. Quick-thinking Wittmann pulled into the pit lane for his mandatory tyre change before a full course yellow slowed the rest of the field down.
This smart move catapulted the BMW driver from 16th place into the lead, ahead of Aitken. However, Wittmann was ultimately denied his 19th DTM victory when he later retired.
“We had decided before the race that we were going to come in late to change the tyres,” said Wittmann. “That strategy really paid off and put us in the lead. To roll to a standstill just before the finish is obviously brutally frustrating. We need to find out whether there was a leak in the fuel line or whether there was generally too little fuel.”
That left the way free for Aitken, while Bortolotti overtook Feller to take second place and finished 1.1 seconds back from the winning Ferrari. Sheldon van der Linde came home fourth ahead of Luca Stolz from Mercedes-AMG Team HRT.
Lucas Auer crossed the finish line a good half a second behind his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver in sixth place, followed by the second Schubert BMW with René Rast at the wheel. Eighth place went to Maini. Thierry Vermeulen came home ninth in a Ferrari 296 GT3. Defending champion Thomas Preining completed the top 10 after gaining six positions in the race.
Image courtesy of DTM
