Porsche factory driver Thomas Preining scored a commanding victory in the first DTM race at Oschersleben, with the #91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) racer crowning a dominant display so far this weekend after also topping Free Practice and Qualifying ahead of the ninth race of the season.
Preining controlled proceedings from the start at the 3.667-kilometre circuit, as behind Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol’s Maro Engel benefitted from a good start to pass Red Bull Team Abt’s Luca Engstler and slot into second place. Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf’s Lucas Auer and Dörr Motorsport’s Ben Dörr followed in fourth and fifth. However, the McLaren driver’s race came to an end following a collision shortly after. TGI Team by GRT’s Mirko Bortolotti inherited his position in a Lamborghini Temerario GT3.
By the time he came in for his mandatory pit stop on lap 21, Preining had opened a gap of around two seconds and returned to the track as the race leader after a flawless tyre change. Engel stopped at the same time, but lost valuable seconds in the pits. Engstler, who had come in a lap earlier for his fresh Pirelli slicks, took full advantage: the 26-year-old used his new tyres, which he had already got up to temperature, to overtake the Mercedes-AMG racer.
After that, the driver from Kempten made up ground on Preining, but was unable to put the leader under any real pressure. Bortolotti was also catching fourth-placed Auer in the final third of the race, but could not get within striking distance and launch a decisive attack. After 40 laps, Preining took the chequered flag as the winner for his maiden DTM victory at Oschersleben, making him the third DTM driver with two victories to his name already this season.
“We want to challenge for the title, so this victory was super important for us,” Preining said. “Our strategy came off perfectly. Getting the timing of your pit stop right is vital in Oschersleben, because you soon find yourself amongst cars being lapped on this narrow track. Luca Engstler was closing in on me all the time in the closing stages, so I had to remain totally focussed.”
Engstler came home 1.601 seconds back, following up the Lamborghini Temerario GT3’s maiden front-row start with his first podium finish of the season.
“We had a difficult start to the season, which was to be expected in our first year with a totally new car,” Engstler commented. “As a team, we have made progress with every race and finally shown that we can compete at the very front. I have known Oschersleben since I was a child: I used to watch my father’s races here, and claimed my first DTM victory here, so I have a special association with the circuit.”
Engel was third and consequently moved to the top of the DTM table, where he now holds a four-point advantage over Comtoyou Racing’s Nicki Thiim, who finished 12th. Auer is six points back in third after finishing in fourth, with Preining up to fourth in the drivers’ standings following his victory.
Bortolotti came home fifth, whilst HRT Ford Racing’s Arjun Maini produced an impressive fightback. The Indian climbed six positions to finish sixth in a Ford Mustang GT3. Kelvin van der Linde actually made up eight places in a BMW M4 GT3 Evo and crossed the line seventh at the home event for his team Schubert Motorsport. Dörr Motorsport’s Timo Glock, who has so often been unlucky this season, returned to the top ten with an eighth-place finish in the McLaren GT3 Evo.
The best-placed Emil Frey Racing Ferrari driver was Thierry Vermeulen in ninth. Ricardo Feller guided the second Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R to tenth place.
Image courtesy of Gruppe C Photography
