We’ve been here before. After winning his third DTM title, the last of the manufacturer/Class 1 era in 2020, Rene Rast was absent for the first year of the DTM’s reboot in 2021 as a GT3 series for customer teams. The German is clear that it wasn’t his choice back then, but a function of calendar clashes with Formula E in Audi’s swansong season.
But when the DTM 2026 kicks off next April at the Red Bull Ring, the emotions will be very different for the most successful driver of the championship’s past decade. And the 39-year-old is at peace with that, “because the decision wasn’t taken for me”.
Porsche’s modern Le Mans legend
Ranking the 10 greatest races of F3000
How Ryan Briscoe’s career has come full circle in IndyCar
Why Castle Combe's F3 renaissance is sadly missed
Phil Hanson: The making of Britain's latest Le Mans winner
WEC announces unchanged calendar for 2026, Le Mans clashes with Barcelona F1 race
Reflections of a NASCAR rockstar
The crucial message behind Chadwick’s latest milestone
Martin: ‘I could have fought Marquez till the end on a Ducati’
How Norris fulfilled his F1 world championship dream
Hamilton's negative F1 interviews not representative of his character - Vasseur
Marquez set to return on a motorcycle after long injury layoff
Why Rast is leaving the DTM
The top 10 touring cars of the Group A era
How the DTM has come back stronger from its Norisring nadir
The other Hamilton conqueror seeking career revival
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Read and post comments