Three-Time Champion · DTM

René Rast

Three DTM championships and thirty-one race wins, including the last six races of 2018 in a row. He now races BMW’s Hypercar in the World Endurance Championship, where he won at Spa and finished second at Le Mans in 2026.

Nationality
German
Born
26 October 1986 · Minden, Germany
Teams
Team Rosberg · Team Abt · Schubert Motorsport · BMW M Team WRT
DTM titles
3 (2017, 2019, 2020)
Porsche Supercup titles
3 (2010, 2011, 2012)
Now
BMW M Team WRT · FIA World Endurance Championship
Shop the Collection Watch highlights
Three-Time DTM Champion
2016 — 2025
3
DTM Championships
31
DTM Race Wins
59
DTM Podium Finishes
138
DTM Starts

Who is René Rast?

René Rast (born 26 October 1986) is a German racing driver who won the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2017, 2019 and 2020, and took 31 wins from 138 starts before retiring from the series in 2025. He also won the Porsche Supercup three years running, and now races BMW’s Hypercar in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Full name
René Rast
Nationality
German
Career
2003–present
Best known for
Three DTM championships and 31 DTM race wins

By KozmozInspire Editorial Published Updated 9 sources

Rider Profile

René Rast: Full Biography

René Rast is a German racing driver who won the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in 2017, 2019 and 2020, taking 31 race wins and 59 podium finishes from 138 starts before retiring from the series at the end of 2025. He won the Porsche Supercup three years running before that, and now drives BMW’s Hypercar in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Porsche He won the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup in 2005, the German Porsche Carrera Cup in 2008 and 2012, and the Porsche Supercup in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Moving to Audi GT machinery brought the 24 Hours of Spa in 2012 and 2014, the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2014, and the ADAC GT Masters title the same year with Kelvin van der Linde.

DTM He was champion in 2017 in his first full season with Audi Sport Team Rosberg. In 2018 he won the last six races of the year — a DTM record for consecutive victories — and still lost the championship to Gary Paffett by four points. Two more titles followed in 2019 and 2020. He also raced in Formula E for Team Aguri, Audi and McLaren, taking three podiums.

BMW He moved to BMW and Schubert Motorsport for 2023 and drove three more DTM seasons, ending his career in the series at Hockenheim in 2025. In the World Endurance Championship he shares the No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 with Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde; in 2026 they won the 6 Hours of Spa and finished second at Le Mans.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined René Rast

Chapter 01

The Porsche Years

He came through karting and Formula BMW, then won the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup in 2005 with six wins in ten races and finished runner-up in the German SEAT León Supercopa in 2006 behind Florian Gruber. Switching to sports cars in 2007, he took the German Porsche Carrera Cup in 2008 and again in 2012, and won the Porsche Supercup in 2010, 2011 and 2012 — three championships in a row. The Audi years overlapped: the 24 Hours of Spa in 2012 with Phoenix and again in 2014 with WRT, the GT class of the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2012 with Magnus Racing alongside Andy Lally, Richard Lietz and team owner John Potter, the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2014, and the ADAC GT Masters title that same year with Kelvin van der Linde. He also raced prototypes, finishing second in the LMP2 class at Le Mans in 2016 with G-Drive.

René Rast at the Variante Ascari in the number 1 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup during the 2011 Porsche Supercup round at Monza. Porsche Supercup · Monza, 2011 Photo: René Rast, Porsche Supercup, Monza (2011) by Luca Barni / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 02

Three Titles, and the Six

Three DTM outings in 2016 preceded a full campaign with Audi Sport Team Rosberg in 2017, and he won the championship at the first attempt with three wins and 179 points. The following season is the one drivers remember. From the Nürburgring onwards he won every remaining race of 2018 — both at the Nürburgring, both at Spielberg, both at the Hockenheim finale — six in a row, a DTM record, several of them from pole. It was not enough: Gary Paffett finished the year on 255 points to his 251, and Rast was runner-up by four. He answered with the 2019 title, seven wins and eight poles from eighteen races, and then the 2020 title, seven more wins and thirteen podiums from eighteen. He ended his DTM career with 31 wins, 26 poles, 59 podiums and 1,743 points.

The number 33 Audi Sport Team Rosberg RS5 Turbo DTM of René Rast in first practice at the Hockenheimring in May 2019. Audi RS5 DTM · Hockenheimring, 2019 Photo: René Rast, Audi RS5 DTM, Hockenheim (2019) by Morio / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (resized) · licence
Chapter 03

BMW, Spa and Le Mans

Formula E ran alongside the DTM years — a one-off for Team Aguri in Berlin in 2016, six races for Audi in 2020 that brought a podium, a full season with Audi in 2020–21 partnering Lucas di Grassi, and a final year with McLaren in 2022–23. Audi cancelled its LMDh programme with Rast already signed to it, and he moved to BMW for 2023, driving Schubert Motorsport’s M4 in the DTM and, from 2024, the M Hybrid V8 in the World Endurance Championship. His last DTM race came at Hockenheim in 2025. In 2026, sharing the No. 20 car with Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde, he led on the opening lap at Le Mans and finished second there, 10.913 seconds behind the winning Toyota, having already won the 6 Hours of Spa. After four rounds he and Frijns led the Hypercar drivers’ championship on 75 points.

The number 20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8 shared by Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde, in third practice for the 2026 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. BMW M Hybrid V8 · 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, 2026 Photo: BMW M Hybrid V8, 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (2026) by MarcelX42 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Career Timeline

René Rast Career Timeline: 1986–Present

Born in Minden

René Rast is born on 26 October in Minden, and grows up in Steyerberg, Lower Saxony.

Polo Cup Champion

Wins the ADAC Volkswagen Polo Cup with six wins from ten races.

Carrera Cup

Takes the German Porsche Carrera Cup title, and wins it again in 2012.

Supercup

The first of three consecutive Porsche Supercup championships.

Spa and Daytona

Wins the 24 Hours of Spa and the GT class of the 24 Hours of Daytona.

Three in One Year

Wins Spa, the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the ADAC GT Masters title.

Le Mans and the DTM

Second in LMP2 at Le Mans, and three DTM starts for Audi.

DTM Champion

Wins the championship in his first full DTM season with Team Rosberg.

Six in a Row

Wins the last six races of the season, a DTM record, and loses the title by four points.

Champion Again

A second DTM title, from seven wins and eight pole positions.

Third Title

A third DTM championship, and a full Formula E season with Audi.

Back to the DTM

Returns to the series with Team Abt after Audi leaves Formula E, and finishes third.

BMW

Moves to BMW and Schubert Motorsport, and spends a final Formula E season with McLaren.

Last DTM Race

Ends a DTM career of 138 starts and 31 wins at Hockenheim.

Spa and Le Mans

Wins the 6 Hours of Spa and finishes second at Le Mans in the No. 20 BMW.

By the Numbers

René Rast DTM Record, Season by Season

René Rast season-by-season record: team, wins, poles, podiums, points and final standing.
SeasonTeam Wins Poles Podiums Points Pos.
2016 Rosberg · Phoenix · Audi 0 0 0 8 23
2017 Audi Sport Team Rosberg 3 3 5 179 1
2018 Audi Sport Team Rosberg 7 2 9 251 2
2019 Audi Sport Team Rosberg 7 8 13 322 1
2020 Audi Sport Team Rosberg 7 7 13 353 1
2022 Team Abt · Audi 1 3 6 149 3
2023 Schubert Motorsport · BMW 1 2 4 140 5
2024 Schubert Motorsport · BMW 2 0 4 172 4
2025 Schubert Motorsport · BMW 3 1 5 169 6

Championship seasons are highlighted. This is his DTM record only, complete from his debut at Zandvoort in 2016 to his final race at Hockenheim in 2025; he did not contest the series in 2021. Every column sums to his published career totals — 31 wins, 26 pole positions, 59 podium finishes and 1,743 points from 138 starts — and those figures are confirmed by the German-language record, which is dated to the end of the 2025 season. The English-language infobox instead gives 27 poles; the column sum and the German record both give 26, which is the figure used here. No career fastest-lap figure is given, because the three available sources disagree (18, 17 and 15). His three Porsche Supercup titles, his GT and prototype record, his Formula E seasons and his current World Endurance Championship campaign with BMW are covered in the biography and timeline rather than here. Points are not comparable down the table, as the scoring system and the number of races both changed over his career. Figures verified 6 September 2026.

Frequently Asked

René Rast: Frequently Asked Questions

What has René Rast won?

Three DTM championships, in 2017, 2019 and 2020, and three Porsche Supercup titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He has also won the 24 Hours of Spa twice, the Nürburgring 24 Hours, the GT class of the 24 Hours of Daytona, the ADAC GT Masters and the German Porsche Carrera Cup twice.

How many DTM races did René Rast win?

Thirty-one, from 138 starts between 2016 and 2025, along with 26 pole positions and 59 podium finishes.

What happened to René Rast in 2018?

He won the last six races of the season in a row — a DTM record for consecutive victories — and still finished second in the championship. Gary Paffett ended the year on 255 points to Rast’s 251.

Is René Rast still racing in the DTM?

No. His last DTM race was at Hockenheim in 2025, after three seasons with Schubert Motorsport and BMW. He continues in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

What does René Rast drive now?

The No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 for BMW M Team WRT in the World Endurance Championship, shared with Robin Frijns and Sheldon van der Linde.

Has René Rast raced at Le Mans?

Yes. He was second in the LMP2 class in 2016 with G-Drive Racing, and second overall in 2026 in the No. 20 BMW, 10.913 seconds behind the winning Toyota.

Did René Rast race in Formula E?

Yes, across four campaigns — a one-off for Team Aguri in 2016, the closing races of 2019–20 and a full season in 2020–21 for Audi, and 2022–23 for McLaren. He took three podium finishes and never won a race.

Which teams has René Rast driven for in the DTM?

Audi Sport Team Rosberg from 2016 to 2020, Team Abt in 2022, and Schubert Motorsport from 2023 to 2025. He raced Audis until 2022 and BMWs thereafter.

Where is René Rast from?

He was born in Minden, in North Rhine-Westphalia, on 26 October 1986, and grew up in Steyerberg in Lower Saxony.

Shop His Gear

René Rast Collection

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. DTM official site · DTM (official)
  2. FIA World Endurance Championship · FIA WEC, official championship site
  3. BMW Group PressClub · BMW Group (official)
  4. 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans · Wikipedia
  5. 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship · Wikipedia
  6. 2018 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters · Wikipedia
  7. René Rast · Wikipedia
  8. René Rast (German) · Wikipedia (German)
  9. René Rast (Q64052) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by KozmozInspire. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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