Former champion Rast returns to DTM grid with ABT Sportsline

Three-time DTM champion René Rast will line up alongside Kelvin van der Linde in the ABT Sportsline Audi for the upcoming season as he looks to add to his 2017, 2019, and 2020 titles.

The 35-year-old is the most successful Audi DTM driver of all time, along with his titles he too 24 race victories, 20 pole positions and 14 fastest laps.

“We already started approaching René at an early stage. We know his strengths as a rival in DTM. In Formula E, we got to know and appreciate him even better last season. We are extremely grateful to his management led by Dennis Rostek and to Audi Sport that it has worked out and that we can enter the battle for the 2022 title with a genuine dream team,” explained ABT’s Thomas Biermaier.

Frederic Elsner, director event & operations at DTM organiser ITR echoed Biermaier’s excitement at the upcoming season, “We are delighted that René Rast is back in the series after a one-year break from DTM. With him, the team is presenting an excellent, vastly experienced driver who became the champion right away in what was his first full DTM season in 2017.

“With his total of three titles, he will be the most successful driver in the field and will definitely be an asset to the series. René has always been a very talented and hard-working racing driver and a fighter and I expect that we can look forward to some action.”

While Rast was absent from DTM in 2021, he kept tabs on the series as he raced with the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team in the FIA Formula E World Championship.

“I am really happy to be back in DTM after a one-year break. I have never lost my appetite for DTM. Audi wanted me to fully focus on Formula E in the past season. I attended some DTM rounds on site and I really liked what I saw.” said Rast as he looks forward to continuity for 2021.

“With ABT in DTM, I will almost have the same crew as in Formula E. My engineer remains the same and it is likewise for my chief mechanic and some mechanics. We are a super practiced team. Continuing to work together simply made sense,” Rast adds.

The 2022 DTM is getting its season underway with official test days at Hockenheim on 5 and 6 April 2022. Further test days have been scheduled at Portimão in Portugal on 26 and 27 April, where the first two races from the total number of 16 of the 2022 DTM season will be held immediately after that (30 April-1 May).