René Rast
René Rast (born 26 October 1986 in Minden) is a German professional racing driver and the 2017, 2019 and 2020 DTM champion. He previously drove for Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler in Formula E from 2019 to 2021 before Audi left the sport at the end of 2021. He claimed overall wins at the 2012 and 2014 24 Hours of Spa, 2014 24 Hours of Nurburgring and a class win at the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona. Career. After competing in karting and Formula BMW, Rast won the 2005 ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup and was runner-up at the  2006 Seat León Supercopa Germany. In 2007, he switched to sports car racing, where he won Porsche Carrera Cup Germany in 2008 and 2012, and Porsche Supercup and claimed three championships from 2010 to 2012. Rast also competed at the ADAC GT Masters from 2010 to 2012, winning the title in his last year. He ran the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring with a Paul Miller Racing Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. Rast won the 2012 24 Hours of Daytona GT class, driving a Magnus Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup with co-drivers Andy Lally, Richard Lietz and team owner John  Potter. Rast won the 2012 and 2014 24 Hours of Spa with a factory-supported Audi R8 LMS with teams Phoenix and WRT respectively. In the 2013 FIA GT Series, he claimed a win and five podiums with an WRT Audi R8. In the 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series, he claimed a win and three podiums. In 2016, he got three podiums with. Rast debuted at the 2014 24 Hours of Le Mans with a Sébastien Loeb Racing Oreca-Nissan, finishing fourth in the LMP2 class. In 2015, he competed at two rounds of the FIA World Endurance Championship with a  factory Audi R18 e-tron quattro, finishing fourth overall at the 6 Hours of Spa and seventh at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In 2016, he raced full-time for G-Drive with an Oreca-Nissan LMP2, claiming a win at Bahrain and a second place at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and two third-place finishes at Silverstone and Austin. Rast debuted at the Formula E at the 2016 Berlin ePrix replacing António Félix da Costa (who has a DTM commitment) at Team Aguri. Later he competed in two rounds of the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters with an  Audi RS5, finishing sixth at Hockenheim II race 1. He won the 2017 DTM title in his first full year driving an Audi RS5 for Team Rosberg. After taking a record-breaking six consecutive race victories the following year, he missed out on a repeat title by only four points. Rast won the 2019 DTM Championship, and scored his third series title the following season. Rast returned to Formula E for the final six races of the 2019-20 season in Berlin, replacing the sacked Daniel Abt at the Audi Sport ABT Schaeffler team. He managed to score a podium  finish in the fifth race, where he crossed the line in third place. Rast is due to join Audi as a permanent driver for the 2020-21 Formula E Championship, partnering Lucas di Grassi. Racing record. Career summary. As Rast was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. Complete Porsche Supercup results. Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance. Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results. As Rast was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points. Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results. Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance  Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship. Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results. Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.