Gary Paffett became the 2018 DTM champion by finishing third in the Hockenheim finale as Audi’s Rene Rast won his sixth race in a row.
The race was Mercedes’ farewell race in the series. All Paffett had to do to secure his second title was to finish in the top four. He crossed the finish line in P3 and claimed the title 13 years after his first one in 2005.
Rast started the race from P2 and quickly moved into the lead in Lap 1. He then cruised to the finish line and took a record sixth consecutive win in DTM.
Gary’s race begun behind Rast and pole-sitter Marco Wittmann. He undercut Marco with an earlier stop. But, he did not fight for the position when the German came back on fresher tyres.
Paul di Resta had a poor qualifying and started the race from P11. He couldn’t fight through to give himself a chance at the title. In the early stages of the race, he was also forced to give back a position to a car that was not even behind him anymore. To top it off, an early-stop strategy put him back in 14th and ended his title hopes. He finished third in the Drivers’ championship, behind Rast, who ended up only four points shy of the title, despite being 93 adrift before his winning streak began.
Gary’s crowning meant that Mercedes exited DTM with the Manufacturers’, Teams’, and Drivers’ championships in hand.