René Rast headed an Audi 1-2-3 in the second DTM race at the Red Bull Ring, after Jamie Green, who controlled most of the race, dropped back with three laps to go due to a technical issue.
From pole position it was Green who led the early stages of the race until his pit stop on lap 12, before then emerging in the lead once all the stops were completed on lap 26.
As for much of the weekend so far, Audis continued to dominate the race, with Green leading from Rast and Nico Müller until a cruel blow on lap 38 when Green dramatically slowed with a gearbox issue and smoke emanating from his car, handing Rast the lead.
Although the Brit limped home on the same lap, he finished down in 14th position and his lack of points leaves him 35 adrift in the title race, despite the Brit dominating much of the weekend.
Green’s demise handed Rast a third win of the season, elevating the German to second in the standings, 21 behind fellow Audi racer Mattias Ekström.
Finishing in second was Team Phoenix’s Mike Rockenfeller, whilst Team Abt’s Müller completed the podium after another tactical race from the latter, who let Rockenfeller through on the penultimate lap.
Gary Paffett was by far the best of the Mercedes’ drivers in the race, finishing in fourth, ahead of Ekström in fifth and BMW’s Marco Wittmann in sixth. The latter duo were involved in fierce fighting throughout the race, with Wittmann at one stage suggesting Ekström should “get a penalty” for one of his passes late in the race.
Indeed, Wittmann lost out the most in the latter stages of the race. The two-time champion had been running in fourth at the time the safety car came out on lap 29, after Lucas Auer’s title campaign ended in the barriers following a tap from Bruno Spengler.
However, the side-by-side restart procedure at the restart three laps later saw Wittmann lose three places in quick succession to Rockenfeller, Ekström and Paffett, before he eventually clawed one back on Ekström late in the race.
Wittmann remains the only BMW driver in realistic contention for the title, hence the heated battles, although he heads to the season finale 38 points away and with only an outside shot.
Timo Glock acted as rear-gunner to the BMW assault and finished in seventh, ahead of Audi’s Loïc Duval in eighth, who took only his second points finish in his DTM career.
Mercedes duo Paul di Resta and Robert Wickens completed the top ten.
After his earlier contact with Auer, BMW’s Spengler was handed a drive-through penalty and finished in last of the runners in 16th, just behind Mercedes’ Maro Engel, who also got a drive-through penalty for angement of the restart procedure.
Auer’s team-mate Edoardo Mortara parked his Mercedes seven laps from the finish with technical issues, continuing a run of mixed form for the 2016 runner-up.
The DTM season concludes at the Hockenheimring on the 13 – 15 October.
Race result
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | BEST | GD |
| 1 | 33 | René RAST |  |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 40 | 57:21.893 | 1:23.534 | 2 |
| 2 | 99 | Mike ROCKENFELLER | |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 40 | 1.025 | 1:23.818 | 4 |
| 3 | 51 | Nico MÜLLER |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 40 | 1.824 | 1:23.566 | 5 |
| 4 | 2 | Gary PAFFETT |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 40 | 3.741 | 1:24.000 | 6 |
| 5 | 5 | Mattias EKSTRÖM |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 40 | 6.136 | 1:23.767 | 8 |
| 6 | 11 | Marco WITTMANN | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 40 | 7.968 | 1:23.970 | 3 |
| 7 | 16 | Timo GLOCK | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 40 | 8.181 | 1:23.948 | 7 |
| 8 | 77 | Loïc DUVAL |  |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 40 | 8.457 | 1:23.956 | 17 |
| 9 | 3 | Paul DI RESTA | |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 40 | 9.328 | 1:23.657 | 13 |
| 10 | 6 | Robert WICKENS |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport Mercedes me | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 40 | 11.305 | 1:24.157 | 16 |
| 11 | 36 | Maxime MARTIN |  |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 40 | 12.126 | 1:24.041 | 11 |
| 12 | 15 | Augusto FARFUS |  |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 40 | 12.696 | 1:24.073 | 12 |
| 13 | 31 | Tom BLOMQVIST | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 40 | 14.745 | 1:23.937 | 9 |
| 14 | 53 | Jamie GREEN | |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 40 | 16.754 | 1:23.474 | 1 |
| 15 | 63 | Maro ENGEL | |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport SILBERPFEIL Energy | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 40 | 27.255 | 1:24.188 | 15 |
| 16 | 7 | Bruno SPENGLER | |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 40 | 28.571 | 1:24.218 | 10 |
| R | 48 | Edoardo MORTARA |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 33 | DNF | 1:24.537 | 14 |
| R | 22 | Lucas AUER |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport BWT | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 29 | DNF | 1:24.051 | 18 |