BMW driver Wittmann was on the right track to take an unlikely victory from the final row of the grid after timing his pitstop to perfection, with Schubert Motorsport having introduced him in for his necessary cease simply earlier than a Full Course Yellow was deployed.
However with the top of the race in sight, his BMW M4 GT3 crawled to a halt at first/end straight attributable to a gas stress alarm, permitting Aitken to retake the place and declare his second profession victory within the DTM.
Aitken had made a clear begin from pole place because the 2024 marketing campaign started at Oschersleben, with Mirko Bortolotti likewise holding on to second within the SSR Efficiency Lamborghini.
However because the preliminary laps wore on, Bortolotti began coming underneath stress from the Abt Sportsline Audi of Ricardo Feller, who had handed HRT Mercedes of Arjun Maini for third at first.
This allowed Aitken to construct a buffer for himself on the entrance of the pack, the British driver pulling in a bonus of three seconds because the pit window opened after 20 minutes of racing.
Bortolotti was among the many first of the frontrunners to peel into the pitlane, with Aitken and Feller following him into the pits on the subsequent lap.
Aitken resumed the race within the web lead, however Feller managed to get the bounce on Bortolotti because the overcut proved to be the superior technique on a observe the place drivers struggled to get warmth into their tyres.
It appeared Aitken would have a clear run to the end, however the race was turned on his head when Ben Dorr misplaced a wheel on his McLaren exiting the ultimate nook across the midway level of the race.
With the unfastened wheel rolling its means onto the observe, a warning interval was necessitated, earlier than the race management determined to carry out the total security automotive.
Nonetheless, simply earlier than the FCY got here into pressure, Schubert cleverly referred to as in Wittmann to the pits, the BMW driver having determined to go lengthy within the first stint after a pink flag in qualifying left him on nineteenth on the grid.
It seemed to be a masterstroke from Schubert, as Wittmann cycled again on observe properly away from the chasing pack. At the same time as the protection automotive that adopted closed the pack again up, Wittmann was capable of make a superb restart as Bortolotti repassed Feller for third.
Nonetheless, a primary win because the 2022 finale at Hockenheim wasn’t to be, as a uncommon mechanical concern left the German stranded on observe and put Aitken again in entrance.
The security automotive was introduced again on observe to assist retrieve Wittmann’s stranded BMW, however the observe could possibly be cleared for a one-lap sprint to the end.
Aitken made no errors because the SC peeled into the pits, maintaining himself properly away from the competitors to begin the season with a shocking win.
Bortolotti claimed second for Lamborghini, whereas Feller resisted the opposite Schubert BMW of Sheldon van der Linde on the ultimate lap to say the third spot on the rostrum.
Mercedes duo Luca Stolz (HRT) and Lucas Auer (Winward) completed fifth and sixth behind van der Linde, whereas Rene Rast ended up seventh within the third of the three Schubert BMWs.
A call to cease early dropped Stolz’s team-mate Arjun Maini from fourth on lap 1 to eighth on the end, forward of the Emil Frey Ferrari of Thierry Vermeulen and reigning champion Thomas Preining (Manthey EMA), who was the one Porsche runner inside the highest 10.
Aside from Wittmann and Dorr, the one different driver to fail to complete the race was SSR’s Nicki Thiim, who retired after simply 10 laps with technical problems with his personal.
DTM Oschersleben – Race outcomes:
