SSR Performance driver, Dennis Olsen, converted his pole position from a wet qualifying session into a maiden DTM win in race one at Spa. While championship leaders Sheldon Van der Linde and René Rast came through the field after disappointing qualifying performances.
It was a wet, early autumnal morning in Belgium for DTM race one qualifying at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Conditions that often promise the possibility of a mixed-up starting grid.
Porsche shocked the grid by locking out the front row, with SSR Performance driver, Dennis Olsen taking pole. Closely followed by fellow Porsche man, Thomas Preining. As championship contenders, Sheldon Van der Linde and Mirko Bortolotti floundered back in twenty-second and twentieth place respectively.
At the start, Olsen comfortably held onto his lead, while his fellow front row starter, Preining, endured a dreadful start. In a heart-stopping moment, his Porsche darted sideways through Eau Rouge while alongside Lucas Auer. Norisring race one winner, Preining, managed to collect the sudden snap, but not without sliding down the field as a result.
Auer was the first to pit from the front-running cars. However, a loose front wheel forced the Austrian to remain in the box for longer than necessary, handing second to Maximilian Götz. But only for a short period, as when Götz came in for fresh tires, cold temperatures on his out lap meant he couldn’t keep Auer behind.
In a cruel twist of luck, Auer’s afternoon collapsed. As his Mercedes AMG GT3 Evo picked up a left rear puncture causing him to retire not long after.
Further back in the field, series veteran, René Rast was making moves. At the checkered flag, Rast was classified in fourth, up seven places from his eleventh place grid start.
Just as impressively, Mirko Bortolotti limited the damage done to his championship hopes with a fine drive from an underwhelming twentieth place on the grid to eighth at the finish. While championship leader, Sheldon van der Linde, did recover during the race. However, he could not add to his points tally, finishing twelfth.
The front three remained unchallenged, with Olsen followed home closely by Götz at the finish. Moving the Norwegian into the championship hunt at the end of the day’s racing.
