[Cobra Mgr]

Originally Posted by Westheim

DTM isn't what it used to be. 2000s' retirement home for F1 stars (Hakkinen, Alesi...) technically still has former F1 drivers, but that's now down to Timo "Is that ...?" Glock and one-and-done Jack Aitken. Most of the field are no-names.

No-names like Ayhancan Güven, a 27-year-old Turkish driver that spent most of his early 20s with oddball assignments in forgettable and sometimes short-lived series before stumbling into the DTM gig in 2022. But even then, prior to this season, he had never won a race, and had not finished higher than 15th in the championship.

This year was different though. Güven in the venomous green #90 Porsche won early, won often - four times ahead of the final weekend in Hockenheim - and was right in the thick of a *really* thick championship battle, with nine drivers in the 24-strong field entering the final two races with a mathematical chance for the championship. Seven remained in the race on Sunday, and six after a first-lap tussle eliminated a few cars. Güven entered the finale 5th in points, on outside pole, and soon took the lead from the Aston Martin - not in the running - that sat on pole. And as the race shook out, the W would give him enough points ... but he needed the W. Finishing second would give the title to the Mercedes of Lucas Auer.

Enter my longtime favorite, Marco Wittmann in the #11 green BMW, 2-time champion from long ago, and eliminated on points on Saturday. Skip to 4:15 for the final lap battle.

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