Factory Lamborghini driver Jordan Pepper blasted Rene Rast after their collision in Sunday’s DTM race at the Sachsenring, saying the rules are different for the three-time champion.
Schubert BMW driver Rast was trying to overtake Pepper for 11th when he tagged the DTM debutant's Grasser Lamborghini into Turn 1, sending him crashing into the back of Rast's team-mate Marco Wittmann, who was running ahead of them.
The impact was so severe that both Pepper and Wittmann had to immediately retire from the race, with their cars sustaining heavy damage in the collision. Rast, meanwhile, was able to continue without any major drama, bagging six crucial points in 10th.
Speaking in the immediate aftermath of the crash, Pepper firmly put the blame on Rast for the incident, calling him out for the kind of aggressive driving that has already seen him pick up three reprimands and consequently a five-place grid drop in 2024.
“In all my years from my go-karts to now, I have never been hit so hard into a corner by someone who is a three-time champion,” he said.
“It is pretty disrespectful, to be honest, what he did in Nurburgring with Maro [Engel], what he has done now, how he races all season.
“It seems like there is a rulebook for Rene Rast and there is a rulebook for the rest.
“It sucks so much because we are with a team, we are not an unlimited budget team. The guys put in so much hard work and effort, to end up with two cars damaged like that in the gravel trap is unacceptable.
“I feel sorry for the guys first and foremost but there is absolutely nothing I can do.
“He hit me so hard that I was basically spinning around trying to catch it and then I hit Marco in the process. It sucks, not a good way to end my weekend in DTM.”
Double DTM champion Wittmann was initially livid with Pepper, pushing the South African back after he tried to approach him in the gravel trap.
He was also later seen throwing his gloves away in frustration, as he was on course for a strong finish after tactically delaying his mandatory tyre change to the final minutes of the pit window.
But after watching a replay of what happened, Wittmann went to Pepper to apologise for his behaviour and concluded that the crash had been triggered by Rast.
“I was very emotional and angry [at Pepper] at the beginning because he was of course the one who hit me," Wittmann explained to Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Total.com .
"In my opinion, he didn't make a mistake. He braked normally and turned in just when you have to turn in for the first corner. So, for me, the blame clearly lies with Rene."
Meanwhile, Rast was heard saying over team radio that Pepper had moved under braking, and maintained his innocence while talking to the media immediately after the race.
"I have to look at that again. Of course, I only experienced it from the car," Rast, who qualified 20th and last, told Motorsport-Total.com.
"I braked for the first corner and turned to the inside, and at that moment Jordan closed the door.
"I was surprised by it and couldn't do anything except choose the inside. It was then closed to me."
Pepper defended himself in response to Rast’s comments, saying that the opening right-hander at the Sachsenring is designed in such a way that you "brake and turn into the corner at the same time" in a GT3 car.
He therefore justified that he could not be criticised for ‘moving under braking’ in the traditional sense.
The stewards investigated the crash between the trio, but deemed that it was "not possible to clearly define who is 100 per cent to blame".
BMW and Lamborghini drivers have to take different lines into Turn 1 due to the nature of the corner, therefore "the stewards could not distinguish whether it was a case of 'moving under braking, which would clear Rast of any wrongdoing or a line that Pepper always drives, which would blame Rast", according to a statement issued to Motorsport-Total.com by the German Motor Sport Association (DMSB).
