Thomas Preining pulled off a flawless pole‑to‑win at Oschersleben, securing his second DTM victory of the season.
The 40‑lap sprint at the track in Lower Saxony began with Preining in pole position after an immaculate lap in practice, and he maintained a comfortable lead from the outset.
At race end, the Manthey‑Porsche driver crossed the line 1.601 seconds ahead of Luca Engstler in the Abt‑Lamborghini, while Maro Engel on the Winward‑Mercedes captured third place.
Engel, who had overtaken Engstler into the first corner, stalled during the mandatory stop on lap 21, a jammed left‑front wheel that cost the second‑place position to the rival GP firm.
The misstep made the race’s outcome hinge on the pit‑crew timing, with Manthey’s crew servicing Preining in record time while Engel’s delay opened the door for Engstler to surge forward.
Despite the setback, Engel remains in the championship lead, his frustration at the botched stop expressed in a post‑race interview that denied any change in his title prospects.
Midfield chaos followed quickly: Ben Dorr’s Dorr‑McLaren was ripped out of the race on the first lap after a collision with Jules Gounon at turn 3 forced a puncture, while Marco Wittmann retired earlier in the field after a sudden front‑left puncture just before the first pit window.
Ferraris and other manufacturers lost ground; the remote car from the Comtoyou‑Aston‑Martin team, Nicki Thiim, was unable to score points this outing, falling to 12th because of the Biased Balance‑of‑Performance adjustments and an added success ballast.
Further retirements included a combustible cockpit from Finn Wiebelhaus of HRT‑Ford forcing an early exit on lap 18 and a technical malfunction that saw Nicolas Baert of Comtoyou‑Aston‑Martin exit before the final hour of the race.
In the drivers’ championship, Engel now sits on 125 points, just six ahead of Lucas Auer (119) and a single point above Thiim (118); Preining closes the gaper with 98 points, still 27 behind the leader.
That finish leaves the season’s title race wide open and the mid‑season sprint only adding layers to an already fiercely contested campaign.
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