Porsche manufacturing facility driver has revealed he thought twice about leaving his employer due to the DTM and virtually cried when signing his first Porsche contract.
Preining is now a longtime determine within the DTM; the Austrian driver gained the 2023 title within the ‘Grello’ Porsche and has impressed since his sequence debut in 2022 with aggressive, daring driving.
Commercial
However few individuals know that the 27-year-old significantly thought of strolling away from his Porsche contract within the late 2010s to race within the Class 1 period of the DTM.
Talking on the Over the Restrict podcast with Laurens and Dries Vanthoor, Preining recalled how tough it was to decide to Porsche again in 2017. At the moment, Porsche was not collaborating within the DTM, and he feared he was giving up his shot at Germany’s premier touring automotive sequence.
“I at all times watched [the DTM]. And for me, I used to be actually struggling to signal my Porsche Junior contract, regardless that I knew the prospect to even proceed racing on any degree might be 1% if I do not signal it,” he mentioned.
Commercial
“I knew that is me giving up the DTM for the long run as a result of again then Porsche was not in DTM. So I used to be virtually crying in Dr. Walliser’s workplace once I signed. All of it turned out effectively.”
Preining mentioned that was not the one time he questioned his future with Porsche.
“After I completed the junior programme and had the prospect to change into a manufacturing facility driver, I virtually left Porsche once more due to the DTM,” he defined. “I had an opportunity to change to the DTM through the Class 1 period. However that venture didn’t appear to be a good medium- or long-term resolution.”
Commercial
Paul Di Resta, R-Motorsport, Aston Martin Vantage AMR
Paul Di Resta, R-Motorsport, Aston Martin Vantage AMR
Why it could solely be the R-Motorsport Aston venture
Preining didn’t identify the group concerned, however the context strongly suggests he was referring to the Aston Martin Class 1 venture run by R-Motorsport, which briefly crammed the hole in 2019 after Mercedes-AMG’s exit from the DTM.
Preining examined a Mercedes C63 DTM on the sequence’ young-driver check at Jerez in December 2018, driving for HWA alongside , and Jake Hughes. served because the reference driver at the moment.
Commercial
Juncadella, Habsburg and Dennis, together with , fashioned the driving force line-up for the Aston Martin venture in 2019, with HWA answerable for its DTM operations.
Preining, then 20 years previous and whose junior contract ran till the tip of 2018, as a substitute competed as a “Younger Skilled” for Porsche group Herberth Motorsport within the ADAC GT Masters in 2019, the place he gained on his maiden weekend.
In hindsight, staying with Porsche labored out effectively for Preining. R-Motorsport withdrew from DTM after one tough season, because it struggled to battle Audi and BMW as a consequence of monetary causes.
Commercial
The manufacturer-heavy days of the DTM additionally ended only a 12 months later, with the sequence adopting the customer-focused GT3 components in 2021.
This opened the door for Porsche to hitch the DTM, coinciding with Preining’s promotion to manufacturing facility standing.
“As issues turned out a few years later, they modified the laws for DTM,” he mentioned. “You need to use GT vehicles. And within the first season, Porsche was not there. However I used to be calling them each week if there’s any method one thing may occur. And it did. So I used to be actually comfortable about that.”
Commercial
Porsche lastly entered the DTM in 2022 with the Bernhard group and SSR Efficiency – and after a tough begin to the season on the Norisring, Preining secured the German model’s first race victory that 12 months.
His maiden drivers’ title adopted in 2023, with Manthey EMA, and he has remained a constant frontrunner within the sequence since then.
Learn Additionally:
To learn extra Motorsport.com articles .
