The Schubert BMW driver aced the start and, despite carrying 25 additional kilos that allowed Maro Engel (Gruppe M Mercedes) to close, he never came under serious threat until the final sequence of corners and won by 0.347 seconds.
Three-time DTM champion Rene Rast took the first podium of his comeback season in third in the leading Abt Audi, as a quick pitstop elevated van der Linde's team-mate Philipp Eng to fourth.
