Quick Facts
Biography
René Rast (born 26 October 1986 in Minden) is a German professional racing driver and the 2017 and 2019 DTM champion. 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.
Racing record
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | FLaps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Formula BMW ADAC | KUG/Dewalt Racing | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 18th |
| 2004 | Formula BMW ADAC | KUG/Dewalt Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 22nd |
| Team Lauderbach Motorsport | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 2005 | ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup | Volkswagen Motorsport | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 395 | 1st |
| 2006 | SEAT León Supercopa Germany | GAG Racing Team | 15 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 185 | 2nd |
| 2007 | Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | MRS-Team | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 10th |
| Porsche Supercup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
| 2008 | Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | MRS-Team | 9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 139 | 1st |
| Porsche Supercup | Veltins MRS Racing | 11 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 95 | 6th | |
| 2009 | Porsche Supercup | Veltins MRS Racing | 13 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 207 | 2nd |
| 2010 | Porsche Supercup | Al Faisal Lechner Racing | 10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 152 | 1st |
| ADAC GT Masters | Mühlner Motorsport | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | 17th | |
| Pole Promotion | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup | Volkswagen Motorsport | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | NC† | |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Farnbacher Racing | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| 2011 | Porsche Supercup | Veltins Lechner Racing | 11 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 181 | 1st |
| Porsche Carrera World Cup | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | N/A | 1st | ||
| ADAC GT Masters | Phoenix Racing Pole Promotion | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 15th | |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Förch Racing | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 93 | 5th | |
| American Le Mans Series - GT | Paul Miller Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC | |
| 2012 | Porsche Supercup | Lechner Racing | 8 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 142 | 1st |
| Porsche Carrera Cup Germany | Team Deutsche Post by tolimit | 17 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 242 | 1st | |
| ADAC GT Masters | Mamerow Racing | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 50 | 16th | |
| Blancpain Endurance Series | Audi Sport Team Phoenix | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 46 | 9th | |
| Rolex Sports Car Series - GT | Magnus Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 49th | |
| 2013 | FIA GT Series | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | 10 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 80 | 6th |
| Blancpain Endurance Series | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 14th | ||
| ADAC GT Masters | Prosperia C. Abt Racing | 16 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 146 | 6th | |
| Dacia Logan Cup Germany | Pronghorn-Racing | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 5067 | 1st | |
| Rolex Sports Car Series - GT | APR Motorsport LTD.UK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 32 | 49th | |
| Pirelli World Challenge | Swisher Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 24th | |
| 2014 | ADAC GT Masters | Prosperia C. Abt Racing | 16 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 214 | 1st |
| Blancpain Sprint Series | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | 14 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 71 | 5th | |
| Blancpain Endurance Series | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 10th | ||
| United SportsCar Championship - GTD | Paul Miller Racing | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 87th | |
| FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 | Sébastien Loeb Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 4th | ||
| 2015 | Blancpain Endurance Series | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
| FIA GT World Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 2nd | ||
| FIA World Endurance Championship | Audi Sport Team Joest | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 12th | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 7th | ||
| Audi Sport TT Cup | Audi Sport | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC† | |
| United SportsCar Championship - GTD | Paul Miller Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 38th | |
| 2015–16 | Formula E | Team Aguri | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23rd |
| 2016 | Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 39 | 9th |
| Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 24th | ||
| FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2 | G-Drive Racing | 7 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 111 | 5th | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 2nd | ||
| Intercontinental GT Challenge | Audi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 44 | 2nd | |
| Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 23rd | |
| Audi Sport Team Phoenix | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - GTD | Magnus Racing | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 36 | 35th | |
| 2017 | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | 18 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 179 | 1st |
| Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | Audi Sport Team WRT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 29 | 10th | |
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | VisitFlorida Racing | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 23rd | |
| Intercontinental GT Challenge | Audi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12th | |
| 2018 | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | 19 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 251 | 2nd |
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | Mazda Team Joest | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 55 | 35th | |
| World Touring Car Cup | Audi Sport Team WRT | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 28th | |
| Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 39th | ||
| Intercontinental GT Challenge | Audi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 18th | |
| 2019 | Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | 18 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 322 | 1st |
| Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup | Audi Sport Team WRT | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32nd | |
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship | Mazda Team Joest | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 35th | |
| Intercontinental GT Challenge | Audi | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC |
As Rast was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete Porsche Supercup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Veltins MRS Racing | BHR | BHR | CAT | MON | MAG | SIL | NÜR 13 | HUN | IST | SPA | MNZ | NC‡ | 0‡ | ||
| 2008 | Veltins MRS Racing | BHR Ret | BHR 3 | CAT 5 | IST Ret | MON 7 | MAG Ret | SIL | HOC 5 | HUN 8 | VAL 6 | SPA 7 | MNZ 8 | 6th | 95 | |
| 2009 | Veltins MRS Racing | BHR Ret | BHR 2 | CAT DSQ | MON 2 | IST 2 | SIL 1 | NÜR 1 | HUN 1 | VAL 1 | SPA 17† | MNZ 1 | YMC 1 | YMC 2 | 2nd | 207 |
| 2010 | Al Faisal Lechner Racing | BHR 1 | BHR 1 | CAT Ret | MON 1 | VAL 1 | SIL 2 | HOC Ret | HUN 3 | SPA 3 | MNZ 4 | 1st | 152 | |||
| 2011 | Veltins Lechner Racing | IST 5 | CAT 7 | MON 1 | NÜR 1 | SIL 1 | NÜR 1 | HUN Ret | SPA 2 | MNZ 2 | YMC 2 | YMC 1 | 1st | 181 | ||
| 2012 | Lechner Racing | BHR 1 | BHR 3 | MON Ret | VAL 1 | SIL 1 | HOC 1 | HUN DNS | HUN DNS | SPA 2 | MNZ 1 | 1st | 142 |
Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.As Rast was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete FIA GT Series results
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Pro | NOGQR 2 | NOGCR 6 | ZOLQR 3 | ZOLCR 5 | ZANQR 3 | ZANCR Ret | SVKQR 5 | SVKCR 2 | NAVQR | NAVCR | BAKQR 1 | BAKCR 15 | 6th | 80 |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sébastien Loeb Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 03R | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | SIL | SPA | LMS 4 | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | SÃO | NC† | 0† | |
| 2015 | Audi Sport Team Joest | LMP1 | Audi R18 e-tron quattro | Audi TDI 4.0 L Turbo V6 (Hybrid Diesel) | SIL | SPA 4 | LMS 7 | NÜR | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | 12th | 24 | |
| 2016 | G-Drive Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 05 | Nissan VK45DE 4.5 L V8 | SIL 3 | SPA 5 | LMS 2 | NÜR Ret | MEX 7 | COA 3 | FUJ | SHA | BHR 1 | 5th | 111 |
As Rast was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
24 Hours of Le Mans results
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Sébastien Loeb Racing | Jan Charouz Vincent Capillaire | Oreca 03R-Nissan | LMP2 | 354 | 8th | 4th |
| 2015 | Audi Sport Team Joest | Marco Bonanomi Filipe Albuquerque | Audi R18 e-tron quattro | LMP1 | 387 | 7th | 7th |
| 2016 | G-Drive Racing | Roman Rusinov Will Stevens | Oreca 05-Nissan | LMP2 | 357 | 6th | 2nd |
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Paul Miller Racing | GTD | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Audi 5.2L V10 | DAY 16 | SEB | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | IMS | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | 87th | 18 |
| 2015 | Paul Miller Racing | GTD | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Audi 5.2L V10 | DAY 5 | SEB | LGA | DET | WGL | LIM | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | 38th | 27 | |
| 2016 | Magnus Racing | GTD | Audi R8 LMS | Audi 5.2L V10 | DAY 1 | SEB | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | COA | PET | 35th | 36 |
| 2017 | VisitFlorida Racing | P | Riley Mk. 30 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | DAY 3 | SEB 6 | LBH | COA | DET | WGL | MOS | ELK | LGA | PET | 23rd | 55 | |
| 2018 | Mazda Team Joest | P | Mazda RT24-P | Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4 | DAY 17 | SEB 8 | LBH | MDO | DET | WGL 13 | MOS | ELK | LGA | PET | 35th | 55 | |
| 2019 | Mazda Team Joest | DPi | Mazda RT24-P | Mazda MZ-2.0T 2.0 L Turbo I4 | DAY 11 | SEB | LBH | MDO | DET | WGL | MOS | ELK | LGA | PET | 35th | 20 |
Complete BlancpainGT Series Sprint Cup results
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Pro | NOGQR DSQ | NOGCR 7 | BRHQR 14 | BRHCR 9 | ZANQR 4 | ZANCR 1 | SVKQR 9 | SVKCR 3 | ALGQR 3 | ALGCR 5 | ZOLQR 4 | ZOLCR Ret | BAKQR 4 | BAKCR Ret | 5th | 71 |
| 2016 | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | Audi R8 LMS | Pro | MISQR 14 | MISCR Ret | BRHQR | BRHCR | NÜRQR 3 | NÜRCR 2 | HUNQR 10 | HUNCR 3 | CATQR 5 | CATCR 18 | 9th | 39 |
Complete Formula E results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015–16 | Team Aguri | Spark SRT01-e | SRT01-e | BEI | PUT | PDE | BUE | MEX | LBH | PAR | BER NC | LON | LON | 23rd | 0 |
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | HOC1 | HOC2 | SPL1 | SPL2 | LAU1 | LAU2 | NOR1 | NOR2 | ZAN1 | ZAN2 19 | MSC1 | MSC2 | NÜR1 | NÜR2 | HUN1 | HUN2 | 23rd | 8 | ||||
| Audi Sport Team Phoenix | HOC1 6 | HOC2 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | HOC1 6 | HOC2 Ret | LAU1 3 | LAU2 7 | HUN1 6 | HUN2 1 | NOR1 12 | NOR2 Ret | MSC1 1 | MSC2 4 | ZAN1 9 | ZAN2 Ret | NÜR1 5 | NÜR2 12 | SPL1 13 | SPL2 1 | HOC1 6 | HOC2 2 | 1st | 179 | ||
| 2018 | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | HOC1 9 | HOC2 7 | LAU1 Ret | LAU2 DNS | HUN1 4 | HUN2 10 | NOR1 16 | NOR2 14 | ZAN1 17 | ZAN2 1 | BRH1 4 | BRH2 3 | MIS1 Ret | MIS2 3 | NÜR1 1 | NÜR2 1 | SPL1 1 | SPL2 1 | HOC1 1 | HOC2 1 | 2nd | 251 |
| 2019 | Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM | HOC1 16† | HOC2 1 | ZOL1 Ret | ZOL2 1 | MIS1 2 | MIS2 3 | NOR1 1 | NOR2 7 | ASS1 3 | ASS2 5 | BRH1 2 | BRH2 1 | LAU1 Ret | LAU2 1 | NÜR1 1 | NÜR2 3 | HOC1 1 | HOC2 3 | 1st | 322 |
Did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.
Complete World Touring Car Cup results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Audi Sport Team WRT | Audi RS 3 LMS TCR | MAR1 | MAR2 | MAR3 | HUN1 | HUN2 | HUN3 | GER1 6 | GER2 Ret | GER3 DNS | NED1 | NED2 | NED3 | POR1 | POR2 | POR3 | SVK1 | SVK2 | SVK3 | CHN1 | CHN2 | CHN3 | WUH1 | WUH2 | WUH3 | JPN1 | JPN2 | JPN3 | MAC1 | MAC2 | MAC3 | 28th | 10 |