After two winning race weekends in a row, Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse aimed to finish the 2022 DTM season on a high, however Nick Cassidy and team mate Felipe Fraga were both forced to retire in the season’s final race.
At the eighth and final Hockenheimring race weekend of the DTM 2022 season, excitement turned to shock for Red Bull//AlphaTauri AF Corse as Kiwi Cassidy escaped a close call and was forced to retire in Race 1.
As Cassidy navigated past a crash that saw the pieces of Norwegian driver Dennis Olsen’s Porsche blast out of a fireball, the Kiwi’s #37 Ferrari was hit by Olsen’s engine, which had detached and sailed through the air.
Fortunately, the Ferrari’s many safety features did their job and Cassidy was unharmed, but through no fault of his own, the resulting damage forced retirement from the race and made it impossible to start Race 2. Thankfully Olsen was able to walk away from his car.
“It’s not the weekend we expected or wanted as a team. It’s a shame, as actually I felt quite good in the car in Qualifying and I thought we maximized what we had, but obviously Race 1 was quite unlucky and ended early for us, along with our season. There’s not much more to say, except I think we did what we could. This year wasn’t easy, but there were some very big highlights as well – so I’m still proud, even though I have mixed emotions.”
2022 DTM Drivers Championship final standings
1. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) 164 points
2. Lucas Auer (AUT) 153
3. René Rast (GER) 149
13. Nick Cassidy (NZL) 64
16. Felipe Fraga (BRA) 60
2022 DTM Teams Championship final standings
1. Schubert Motorsport – 226 points
2. Mercedes-AMG Team Winward – 152
3. ABT Sportsline – 152
7. Red Bull AlphaTauri AF Corse – 129
