René Rast goes into the 2019 DTM season as favourite to take the crown. With reigning champion Gary Paffett having left the series, speculation turns to who will be able to break the Audi driver’s incredible unbeaten streak from the back end of last year.
A record breaking six consecutive race wins saw the Audi Sport Team Rosberg driver decimate a 99-point deficit midway through the season, eventually missing out on the title by four points.
The 2018 champion, Gary Paffett, has been denied the opportunity to defend his crown following Mercedes withdrawal from the series, promoting Rast to bookies favourite.
But the 2017 champion won’t have it all his own way.
With the DTM adopting the ‘Class One’ regulations, alongside changes to race formats, and the highly competitive nature of the series, a title challenger could come from anywhere.
Factor in how form can change, as it did for Rast in the latter half of last year, and the fight for the 2019 crown will be anything but straightforward.
CONTENDERS
Paul Di Resta – R-Motorsport – Aston Martin – (2018: 3rd)
Paul Di Resta will look back at the 2018 season as an opportunity missed.
Having taken three wins, including a win on home soil at Brands Hatch, the Scotsman held a four-point advantage at the top of the standings with one race weekend to go.
Di Resta’s strength comes in his ability to race smart, understanding the importance of the long game in taking home the title.
The 2010 champion knows when to challenge, and when it is best to secure the points, scoring 17 of 20 races with an average finish of sixth place last season.
However, having not won a title since his DTM triumph eight years ago, Di Resta will be pushing hard to win in 2019.
With Mercedes leaving DTM, Di Resta was left without a race seat before being signed by incoming R-Motorsport, who will be running the brand new Aston Martin Vantage AMR DTM.
With the series eager to attract manufacturers for the ‘Class One’ era, it is unlikely that the new Vantage will be far off the pace. However, performance in the early rounds remains a big question mark, and with the title being decided by a handful of points in 2018, Di Resta will be hoping the new car is soon competitive.
Di Resta, should he be at his best and the Vantage close to the front, will provide the greatest challenge to René Rast.
Marco Wittmann – Team RMG – BMW – (2018: 4th)
Marco Wittmann looked set to be a title challenger in the first half of 2018.
Having won two of the first eight races, the 29-year-old was only seven points from the top of the standings after the Norisring.
However, his season tailed off and the two-time DTM champion finished fourth overall, a daunting 91 points adrift.
Wittmann was able to keep a level head during the hectic race two at Hungary, and out-raced the field to win in the second race at Norisring.
These two performances alone testify that on his day, the 2014 and 2016 champion can be untouchable.
Despite a very unremarkable season in 2018, it must be emphasised that Marco Wittmann is a two-time DTM champion and therefore knows exactly what is required from the car, the team, and himself – notably consistency- to bring the trophy home.
Wittmann finished as first of the BMW drivers, and as such is the Bavarian-marques sharpest arrow going into 2019, and best placed to take the title fight to the Rast/Audi combination.
Timo Glock – Team RMG – BMW – (2018: 5th)
Timo Glock joined the DTM in 2013, and has been improving his performance year-on-year. 2018 was undoubtedly his best season to date, finishing fifth in the standings and even led the points in the early rounds.
At 36 years of age some might say Glock is reaching the latter stages of his career. However, race two of the season at Hockenheim proved that the ex-F1 driver shows no sign of slowing down.
Glock must be considered a challenger for the 2019 DTM title as he drives every race flat-out. Whilst other drivers may sit back to collect points, the BMW Team RMG driver seeks to extract the most from every race scenario.
The German ace is not afraid to engage in wheel-to-wheel combat, and put the race on the line; as we saw in Hockenheim and Hungary, where he came back from a first lap spin to finish second.
Importantly Glock is loving his time in the DTM, and is unwavering in his determination to win the title. Expect the German to continue his upward trend and mount a serious title challenge.
OUTSIDERS
This selection of drivers may not be stand out contenders, but it would be unwise to discount them from causing an upset.
Joel Eriksson – Team RBM – BMW (2018: 14th)
Joel Eriksson thoroughly impressed in his debut season, and was rewarded with a stunning maiden victory in race two at Misano in unfavourable conditions.
Eriksson finished the season in 14th with 72 points, an arguably inaccurate representation for an admirable first foray into the DTM series.
The 20-year-old often found himself in race-long battles and did not shy away from engaging in physical racing.
The young Swede displayed his potential in the difficult conditions of race two at Misano, the BMW driver coming from nearly a lap down to win.
After the mid-race safety car, Eriksson was ahead of the leaders on strategy, effectively managing the race lead to take his maiden DTM win.
Eriksson is somewhat of a dark horse who, on his day, can challenge at the front. The process of learning is still ongoing, but could be an outside chance to make Rast’s title attempt a little less straightforward.
Jamie Green – Team Rosberg – Audi – (2018: 18th)
2018 proved that it does not matter how long you have raced in DTM, everyone has low points, and Jamie Green admits that last year was his worst in the series.
The Audi Sport Team Rosberg driver has competed in the DTM since 2005, picking up 16 race wins, finishing third overall in 2012, 2016 and 2017, and even narrowly missing out on the title in 2015.
Green knows what it takes to win races, and ultimately can make decisions to boost his championship potential.
He simply would not have featured at the top on so many occasions, if he did not understand the long game.
Similarly, he would not be there if he did not possess a decent level of raw speed.
In 2017 the 36-year-old recorded his highest points tally, winning three races, and failing to score points on only three occasions.
During the middle part of the year, Green finished in the points in nine consecutive races, a string of consistency rarely achieved in the ultra-competitive series.
Jamie Green will be doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of 2018. Despite being an outsider for the title, an on-form Green must be considered a threat to his teammate.
Sheldon van der Linde – Team RBM – BMW – (2019 Rookie)
New to the series, Sheldon van der Linde should not be underestimated. The 19-year-old South African has displayed his pace in GT3 machinery in both the ADAC GT Masters and the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Driving for Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, van der Linde won twice en route to second place in the ADAC GT Masters series, alongside older brother Kelvin, in addition to taking home the junior crown.
Sheldon is fundamentally a quick and talented driver. 2019 will be a year to focus on transferring his evident ability to the DTM car, and if he can then expect the rookie to be causing the established names a few headaches throughout the year.
It is evident that René Rast can expect a tough fight for the title. Paul Di Resta looks best placed to take on the in-form Audi driver, but his ability to challenge will be reliant on the pace of the new Vantage AMR.
Marco Wittmann and Timo Glock must be expected to be in championship contention in the latter stages of the season.
Outside chances are the developing Joel Eriksson, the experienced Jamie Green, and red-hot rookie Sheldon van der Linde.
The DTM championship is notorious for being unpredictable, and 2019 looks set to follow that trend, but only one driver can claim the crown. René Rast will not have it easy in reclaiming the title as both experienced and rookie competitors are likely to challenge the Audi driver all the way to the final race in October.