HOCKENHEIM, Germany — The battle for the DTM crown remains exciting until the very last race.
After a spectacular penultimate race of the season at the Hockenheimring, characterized by fierce duels, the title will be decided in Sunday’s Grand Finale.
Championship leader Thomas Preining (AUT/Manthey) fought his way back to fifth place after a poor start, but his two pursuers were able to close the gap: Marco Wittmann (FÜRTH/Schubert Motorsport) moved up to second place in the standings, currently third, and is now only 20 points behind Preining.
Maro Engel (MONACO/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) finished the race in fourth place and is 22 points adrift.
Victory in the spectacular 15th DTM race went to Lucas Auer (AUT/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), who rewarded himself with his first win of the season after a flawless performance.
“That was a tough race with many intense battles. We’ve had a lot of bad luck lately, so I’m incredibly happy, even though the title is unfortunately no longer within my grasp. On Sunday, we want to build on this and get another win,” said the 32-year-old. Mirko Bortolotti (I/TGI Team by GRT) also achieved his best result of the season, finishing second.
Polesitter Luca Engstler (Kempten/Red Bull Team Abt) maintained his lead ahead of Auer at the start of Saturday’s race. While Engel made a lightning start, moving from seventh to third place, race leader Preining dropped from third to eleventh. Things got hectic in the second lap: Auer and Engstler made contact while battling for the lead, and Engstler’s Lamborghini Temerario GT3 subsequently clipped the side of a wall.
After a brief interruption while Engstler’s car was recovered, the race resumed. Shortly afterward, Engel took the lead and extended his advantage over fellow Lamborghini driver Auer to over three seconds before the mandatory pit stop. Behind them followed Auer, Bortolotti, Wittmann, and Marco Mapelli (Italy/Red Bull Team Abt). Preining had meanwhile fought his way up to eighth place.
After all the drivers had completed their tire changes, Engel, who had been comfortably in the lead, was the last to put on new Pirelli slicks. However, the new right-rear tire jammed, causing the 41-year-old to lose considerable time. Engel rejoined the track in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 in third place behind Auer and Bortolotti, and was soon overtaken by Wittmann.
After 36 laps, Auer, Bortolotti, Wittmann, and Engel crossed the finish line. Behind them, Preining, after a perfect pit stop and some impressive overtaking maneuvers, finished fifth. This means the 28-year-old from Linz leads the standings by 20 points ahead of Wittmann and 22 points ahead of Engel going into the final race. A maximum of 28 points are still up for grabs on Sunday.
Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) finished sixth in the second Schubert Motorsport BMW. Seventh place went to Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter), while Arjun Maini (IND/HRT Ford Racing) finished eighth in his Ford Mustang GT3. Mapelli crossed the finish line in ninth place, and Finn Wiebelhaus (Obertshausen/HRT Ford Racing) completed the top 10.
