Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser-Lamborghini) wins the second DTM race in Oschersleben: The Italian initially labored his means as much as second place due to an overcut on the first pit cease after which benefited from a botched tire change for Manthey-Porsche driver Thomas Preining, who had been in full management of the race as much as that time.
“Sure, sadly superior. Unbelievable. I’ve to say, I can not consider it,” Bortolotti cheers on ProSieben and remembers: “Everyone knows how troublesome the 12 months is for us. Mainly, it has been a troublesome 12 months and a half for me. It feels extraordinarily good to be again proper on the prime, right here within the DTM.”
It’s the fifth DTM victory for the Lamborghini driver, however his first win since October 2024, when he triumphed in Spielberg. “That is why I am pleased to be again on the very prime step of the rostrum. It feels mega good. And the race was merely a masterclass from begin to end. No person gave us something, however that is not what we wish both, and we’re not used to it. That is why it simply feels so good.”
Wittmann misses podium at Schubert’s house race
Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) takes on Sunday second place, adopted by unfortunate Preining, who nonetheless needed to defend in opposition to Marco Wittmann’s Schubert-BMW within the closing levels. The motive force from Fürth had the more energizing tires after his retirement the day past, however couldn’t discover a well beyond the Manthey-Porsche.
“In fact we had hoped for a bit extra from this race, particularly since we had a transparent tire benefit, however as you possibly can see, we could not make use of that both,” Wittmann, who had been battling a gastrointestinal an infection, is visibly disenchanted on ProSieben. “My objective was a minimum of a house podium for Crew Schubert.”
“Nonetheless, I believe for those who take a look at the circumstances, it was one in every of, if not probably the most troublesome and bodily race weekend I’ve had. P4 is an efficient outcome, however in fact, if you’re proper there, you naturally need to battle for the rostrum, however I believe we merely did not have the tempo for that right this moment.”
Lucas Engstler (Abt-Lamborghini) finishes fifth, adopted by Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford) and Kelvin van der Linde within the Schubert-BMW. Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche), Jules Gounon (Winward-Mercedes) and Matteo Cairolo (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) full the highest 10.
Engstler assaults Preining firstly, however …
As on the day past, polesitter Preining initially transformed his pole place into the lead. Engstler briefly swept previous within the first nook, however then drifted barely off the racing line. That allowed the Manthey-Porsche driver to counter once more on the within and reclaim the lead.
Engstler defended second place in opposition to Arjun Maini, who had moved previous Marco Wittmann firstly. Behind the Schubert-BMW driver, teammate Kelvin van der Linde, Bortolotti and Engel initially lined up after the opening part.
By the point the primary pit cease window opened, Preining – who, following his victory the day past, needed to race with 20 kilograms of success ballast – had already constructed up a lead of simply over a second, though Engstler was at instances capable of set the quickest lap of therace and cut back the hole.
Nicki Thiim was the primary driver to move in for his first pit cease. After a tire mistake in qualifying, the Comtoyou driver needed to begin the race nearly from the again of the sphere and subsequently opted for another technique. The drivers from the main group, in contrast, stayed out considerably longer earlier than coming in for his or her first tire change.
Bortolotti advantages from a late pit cease
Kelvin van der Linde was the primary driver from the highest 6 within the pits, adopted by Maini and Wittmann, who stopped one lap later. Nevertheless, the hoped-for undercut in opposition to the leaders didn’t materialize, as Preining defended his lead regardless of his later tire change.
Engel and Bortolotti additionally benefited from their late cease and moved into the highest 3, whereas Engstler dropped again to fourth place. Through the Abt driver’s pit cease, issues additionally didn’t go totally in line with plan due to an issue with the left wheel gun.
On monitor, the motion remained manageable, because it had on Saturday. Though there have been some place battles inside the prime 10 as much as the second pit-stop window, particularly between Maini and Wittmann for fifth place, decisive overtaking strikes didn’t materialize.
Even a light-weight rain bathe that handed over the monitor across the midway level of the race introduced no modifications. On the entrance, nevertheless, Bortolotti managed at instances to cut back the hole to chief Preining to lower than one second.
Preining loses victory on the second pit cease
The second pit cease lastly supplied the decisive turning level. The highest 4 got here in collectively for the ultimate tire change, however Preining’s cease went utterly improper as a result of there was an issue on the left rear. The Manthey-Porsche driver misplaced helpful time within the pits and, consequently, dropped again to 3rd place.
Bortolotti took the lead forward of Maro Engel. That determined Preining’s battle for victory; as a substitute, the Porsche driver needed to defend in opposition to Wittmann within the closing levels. With third place, the 2023 DTM champion a minimum of managed some harm limitation in the long run.
Maro Engel additional extends his lead within the total DTM standings with second place. The AMG driver (145 factors) stays forward of Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin, 124 factors) and model colleague Lucas Auer (123 factors), who finishes solely twelfth within the Landgraf-Mercedes. Thomas Preining (117 factors) presently occupies fourth place.
“I am completely delighted,” total chief Engel admits on ProSieben. “It was an excellent robust weekend. However as we have mentioned so usually, no one can win the championship right this moment or on the Nürburgring. So preserve our toes on the bottom, preserve working. We’re completely delighted with the weekend.”
The subsequent two races of the 2026 DTM season (right here is the total race calendar!) will happen in three weeks (August 14 to 16) on the Nürburgring. Final 12 months, the 2 former DTM drivers Jack Aitken (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) on Saturday and Rene Rast (Schubert-BMW) on Sunday celebrated race victories there.
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