Verdict after middle finger crash “difficult to digest”

The verdict after the violent DTM crash at the Sachsenring, which led to Grasser's Lamborghini substitute Jordan Pepper giving Rene Rast the finger, is causing controversy: The Schubert BMW driver, who was clearly identified as the culprit by Pepper and teammate Marco Wittmann, was the only one to get away unscathed, while the other two received warnings for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Rast has since apologized. “I'm sorry for Jordan and Marco that they couldn't finish the race,” said the three-time champion, without taking the blame for the serious accident.

“The race management has classified the incident as a racing accident. The team now has a big job ahead of them to get everything back on track before the next race, and I am very sorry for that,” the apology goes above all to his Schubert team, who have been confronted with costly damage again and again this year and have to get Wittmann's car back in shape.

Wittmann “quite surprised” by verdict

“Meanwhile, Wittmann added: Rast's long-time arch-rival, who has been his brand colleague since he switched to BMW two years ago, initially blamed Pepper and even pushed him in his anger because he didn't know that Rast had touched him beforehand. After that, Wittmann made up his mind and said the blame “clearly lies with Rene.”

Wittmann has now apologized to Pepper once again on Instagram: “In my opinion, it was clearly not his fault, but I am quite surprised by the result 'no further action',” he said, expressing surprise that Rast did not receive a penalty.

“This is difficult to digest because I was the victim and expected that there would be at least some consequences in this matter, even if that would mean partial blame for both drivers,” said Wittmann.

Damage totaling almost 200,000 euros

He himself is “looking forward and will come back stronger,” announced the Fürth native, who, like Rast, will be racing for BMW at the WEC race in Fuji this weekend. “My mechanics now have a lot of work ahead of them to get the Green Machine back into shape.”

Pepper's reaction? “I appreciate the apology, buddy,” he tells Wittmann. “Don't worry. Emotions were running high and I totally understand your frustration. I'm looking forward to many more fights.”

After the accident, Wittmann was worried about whether his chassis was still intact. The Schubert team has now checked the vehicle in the workshop and estimates the cost of the damage at 80,000 to 100,000 euros. Nevertheless, the chassis does not appear to be damaged.

Grasser sees “midfield crisis” at Rast

It is to be used at the next test in Spielberg on September 17th. If there are no problems there, it will continue to be used. Incidentally, the costs for the damage to the gold-black Grasser Lamborghini, which flew head-on into the rear of Wittmann's BMW, are in a similar range. Team boss Gottfried Grasser speaks of demand of around 80,000 euros.

The Austrian confirmed that Rast has often had contact after poor starting positions this season, and that he had a “midfield crisis” directly after the crash. At some point, “the series had to do something about certain drivers. Rast always pushes the other cars out. I'm really unhappy about that. We see that every race weekend.”

The fact that Rast is now getting off scot-free because the stewards could not prove that he was clearly at fault is “incomprehensible” to Grasser. We have to accept it, but a racing accident looks different to us. Jordan had no chance of preventing it.” At the hearing, his driver even “asked the stewards what he should have done differently in his situation, to which he received no answer,” says Grasser.

Ekström suggests sports commissioners take a toilet break

The Austrian is now calling for a solution like in Formula 1, where ex-drivers support the sports commissioners: “It would be urgently necessary for an independent driver to sit there who can judge this from a real driver's perspective – and not office workers.”

DTM legend Mattias Ekström, who is a possible candidate, also joined the debate on Instagram and made fun of the verdict. “No further action…” he commented, adding four tear-laughing emoticons and suggesting that the stewards take a toilet break with the hashtag “#sometimeseventhestewardsneedatoiletbreak”.

SSR Lamborghini driver Nicki Thiim immediately caused amusement: When asked on Instagram whose fault the accident was, the Dane jokingly replied: “Clearly Wittmann”.