Is Rene Rast reversing his announced DTM retirement after the botched DTM finale in Hockenheim? Two weeks after the season finale, in which he fell victim to a chain reaction after the duel with champion Ayhancan Güven in the first lap, the three-time champion made it clear that he wanted to say goodbye to the DTM differently and that a comeback was even an issue.
“I imagined my last DTM race to be different than what happened there,” says Rast. “My race was basically over after half the lap. And I would have liked to have fought it to the end on the track, which unfortunately wasn’t possible. That’s why I miss this last race a bit, but also the last lap in particular.”
According to his own statements, he had planned for the last round to “thank the fans again, do the usual donuts and maybe do a few other things.” It is now “extremely bitter” to say goodbye without this conclusion.
“It still hurts not to have driven this race”
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This applies to himself, but his Schubert team also plays an important role in these ideas. “I can really say: My crew lives this sport like almost no other. And I have rarely seen a crew that has put so much heart and soul into the DTM,” says Rast.
Rast was unable to complete his “Mission 4” with the Schubert crew
Foto: Alexander Trienitz
The pictures from the pit lane after the race, when “there were tears in everyone’s eyes and everyone was really in a state of shock,” showed Rast how much the DTM title with him would have meant to the team. “It hurts me extremely that I couldn’t give the boys this title. And that’s why it still hurts not to have driven this race.”
Resignation from resignation? “Extreme, how emotions run away with you”
The 38-year-old BMW works driver admits that it took him “a week” after the disappointment “before I was able to get my head around it again and not have to think about it every day.” This week he was also concerned with the question of whether he would like to revise the resignation he announced on Friday evening before the DTM finale.
“Of course this question was on my mind, and it was also one of the core questions of the week after the weekend. It’s extreme how emotions go through you in a week like this. It goes from up, down, up, down, yes, no, all over the place and this and that,” Rast gives insights into his mental life.
“Then you find new arguments why yes and why no. And every day the opinion is different. So it was a very interesting first week,” he smiles.
“I would like to do this last lap at some point”
What does the current status look like? “Two weeks later I would still say: I stand by what I said,” says Rast. But he points out: “Who knows what will happen in January or February? Maybe something will have changed again by then. You should never say never, but at the moment I’m very satisfied and very happy with the situation as it is. Let’s see what’s really on the agenda at the beginning of next year.”
Especially since there would theoretically be the possibility of returning for a guest start like Mattias Ekström once did and thus saying goodbye to the DTM fans in a dignified manner. “We still have a lot of time to think about it,” says Rast, who reveals that he doesn’t even know exactly when the coming season will start (DTM calendar 2026). “When does it start? April? May?”
But it was precisely for this reason that he always spoke of a “temporary” resignation and left a door open. “I would like to do this last lap at some point – in whatever form,” admits Rast. “We’ll think of something nice. Let’s see.”
The next few months will decide the future
At the moment he has no idea whether it looks like just a guest start, a show round or even a whole season. “It can go from one lap to one race to ten years of DTM,” he smiles.
He didn’t set a deadline for this. “I would now wait until Christmas and then see what’s under the Christmas tree,” jokes Rast, who is happy that motorsport will take a back seat for a few months after the WEC finale in Bahrain from November 6th to 8th.
Then he could let all that sink in and spend more time with the family as planned. “And maybe it’s boring after two months,” he shrugs. “Maybe I’ll say: It was the wrong call!”
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