Fast start to new DTM season
Nico Müller scores a race win for Audi Sport at the 2022 DTM opener in Portugal.
With a win in the second race of the opening round, Audi Sport shows it’s looking to take the top spot in this year’s championship.
3 May, 2022
Müller puts his R8 LMS on pole position for Race 2 and led from start to finish – winning with a 3.4 second gap to his nearest rival
The 36th DTM season has got off to a flying start in Portugal with Audi Sport driver, Nico Müller charging to victory in the second of two races. This puts his Team Rosberg Audi R8 LMS in the winner’s circle and gives the team a great start going into round two of the championship.
In 2021 the wheel-to-wheel racing of the DTM (German Touring Car Championship) saw a change to GT3 regulations for the first time after years of the championship being run on Touring car rules.
Audi Sport had dominated the series with its RS 5 DTM (4.0-litre V8 and 2.0-litre turbo four-cylinder versions) winning eight manufacturer’s championships up to 2020 and René Rast claiming back-to-back driver’s championships in 2019 and 2020.
In 2021, the move to GT3 regulations saw the brand’s all-conquering R8 LMS GT3 cars line up in the series for the first time and when the dust settled at the of a tough year of competition, Audi Sport’s Kelvin van der Linde was third on the drivers’ standings. His team, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportline were runners up in the Teams’ classification, so the battle lines are drawn to see Audi once again on top of the DTM standings in 2022.
The first race of the opening weekend this year saw a field of 29 cars line up – the biggest since 2000 – with Mercedes-Benz ultimately coming away with the points.
Müller was quick to correct the situation in race two, putting his R8 LMS on pole at the Portico circuit two-tenths of s second ahead of his nearest rival.
Defending his position off the line against Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti, the Swiss Audi driver produced the perfect race, ultimately taking the checkered flag 3.4 seconds ahead of Ferrari driver Felipe Fraga and Bortolotti in the Lamborghini.
The result sees Müller in second place in the standings, with Audi also second in the manufacturers standings with points tied with championship leader Mercedes-AMG. In the team standings, ABT Sportsline is the second-best team ahead of fellow Audi team, Rosberg.
Round 2 of the 2022 DTM season sees the teams descend on Lausitzring near Dresden, May 20 to 23.
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