2025 Spa 24 Hours winner Jordan Pepper proved unstoppable today at the Norisring. The 28-year-old showed no signs of weakness in the first DTM race of the weekend, claiming a comfortable lights-to-flag victory in his TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2.
Pepper’s first DTM win saw him continue an impressive run of success at the street circuit in Nuremberg, having also been the fastest man in practice and qualifying.
“What an unbelievably emotional moment for me,” he said. “I am incredibly proud and still cannot really believe it. The final laps seemed to last for ever. However, I gave it my all and remained focused right through to the finish.”
Thomas Preining came home second in his Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R after a tactically mature display. Third place went to Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG driver Maro Engel.
Up front, Pepper did a great job of defending his lead at the start, and proceeded to pull clear of the field as the race progressed. Behind him, Emil Frey’s Thierry Vermeulen and Preining slotted into second and third place.
They both benefited from a collision between ABT Sportsline racer Nicki Thiim, who had started from second place, and Engel. While the Dane dropped back, the Mercedes-AMG driver was able to continue in fourth. Jack Aitken found himself fifth in the second Emil Frey Racing Ferrari.
The leading duo of Pepper and Vermeulen did not come in for their tyre change until the end of the pit stop window. The two drivers’ teams took longer than the chasing pack to heat their new Pirelli slicks.
While Pepper’s lead of roughly five seconds allowed him to rejoin the race at the front of the field, Vermeulen fell back to fourth. Preining and Engel, on the other hand, climbed into second and third place after very quick stops.
Pepper then continued to control proceedings from the front in the final third of the race, and took the chequered flag after 65 laps with a lead of more than three seconds. Aitken completed the top five, behind Preining, Engel and Vermeulen.
“I am totally happy with second place,” Preining said. “We had no chance against the Lamborghini, but made the most of what we had. We gained a position at the start and came into the pits for the tyre change at the right time. That strategy secured second place for us. The heat is immense inside the car, but you can shut that out during the race.”
Lucas Auer had a quiet race in his Landgraf Mercedes. However, sixth place was enough for the 30-year-old to defend his lead at the top of the table, with Pepper now his closest rival in second place overall.
Fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Jules Gounon (Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) was seventh, followed in eighth by HRT Mustang driver Arjun Maini. Ricardo Feller made up six positions in his Land Motorport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 to finish ninth. BMW driver René Rast finished tenth for Schubert, from 17th on the grid.
Image courtesy of ADAC/DTM
