After his unfortunate exit and missed title, Rene Rast is considering backtracking: Why the end of his DTM career is by no means certain
After his botched DTM finale in Hockenheim, is Rene Rast backtracking on his announced retirement from the DTM? Two weeks after the season finale, in which he fell victim to a chain reaction after a duel with champion Ayhancan Güven in the first lap, the three-time champion makes it clear that he wanted to say goodbye to the DTM differently and that a comeback is even on the table.
“I imagined my last DTM race, for the time being, to be different from what happened,” says Rast. “My race was basically over after half a lap. And I would have liked to have fought to the end on the track, which unfortunately wasn’t possible. So I’m missing this last race a bit, but also the last lap in particular.”
According to his own statements, he had planned to “thank the fans once again, do the usual donuts, and maybe do a few other things” on the last lap. It is now “extremely bitter” to say goodbye without this conclusion.
“It still hurts not to have driven this race.”
That applies to him personally, but his Schubert team also plays an important role in these thoughts. “I can truly say that my crew lives and breathes this sport like almost no other. And I have rarely experienced a crew that has put so much heart and soul into the DTM,” says Rast.
The images from the pit lane after the race, when “everyone had tears in their eyes and were in a state of shock,” showed Rast how much the DTM title would have meant to the team. “It hurts me deeply that I couldn’t give the guys this title. And that’s why it still hurts not to have raced.”
Retirement from retirement? “It’s extreme how emotions can get the better of you.”
After the disappointment, it took him “a week” “until I was back in the game mentally and didn’t have to think about it every day,” admits the 38-year-old BMW works driver. During that week, he also pondered whether he wanted to reconsider his retirement, which he had announced on Friday evening before the DTM finale.
“Of course, I thought about that question, and it was also one of the key questions of the week after the weekend. It’s extreme how emotions run through you in a week like that. It goes up, down, up, down, yes, no, back and forth, this and that,“ says Rast, giving an insight into his inner life. ”Then you find new arguments for why yes and why no. And every day, your opinion changes. So it was a very interesting first week,” he smiles.
“I would like to drive this last round at some point”
What is the current status? “Two weeks later, I would still say: I stand by what I said,” says Rast. But he adds: “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 is also the theoretical possibility of returning for a guest start, as Mattias Ekström once did, and thus bidding a dignified farewell to the DTM fans. “We still have plenty 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 that’s precisely why he has always spoken of a “provisional” retirement and left the door open. “I would like to drive that last lap at some point – in whatever form,” admits Rast. “We’ll come up with something nice. We’ll see.”
The next few months will decide the future
At the moment, however, he has no idea whether it will be just a guest start, a show lap, or even a whole season. “It could be anything from one lap to one race to ten years in the DTM,” he smiles.
He hasn’t set himself a deadline. “I’d wait until Christmas and then see what’s under the Christmas tree,” jokes Rast, who is glad that motorsport will take a back seat for a few months after the WEC finale in Bahrain from November 6 to 8.
Then he can let it all sink in and spend more time with his family as planned. “And maybe it will be boring after two months,” he shrugs. “Maybe then I’ll say: It was the wrong call!”
