NUREMBERG, Germany — It was a dream weekend for Nicki Thiim (DK/Comtoyou Racing) at the sold-out Norisring.
The Aston Martin driver followed up his victory on Saturday with another win from pole position on Sunday, taking over the lead in the DTM standings after this double victory.
“An incredible weekend for me! Two pole positions and two wins feel like a dream. It has always been my big goal to one day bring the Thiim name back to the top of the DTM standings, following in my father’s footsteps in 1992. Finn Wiebelhaus put me under incredible pressure during the race. My experience certainly helped me there,” said the Dane, who received his winner’s trophy from the Minister-President of the Free State of Bavaria, Dr. Markus Söder. Road-to-DTM newcomer Finn Wiebelhaus (Obertshausen/HRT Ford Racing) also delivered a top performance on the Nuremberg street circuit.
With a gap of 0.887 seconds, he finished second in his Ford Mustang GT3, marking his second podium finish of his rookie season. Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) completed the podium, having worked his way up from fifth on the grid to third place.
Shortly after the start of Sunday’s race, it began to rain lightly at the Norisring. At that point, all drivers were on slick tires. Pole-sitter Thiim led ahead of Wiebelhaus, his teammate Arjun Maini (IND), and Auer. Intensifying rain and a collision between Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli (I/Emil Frey Racing) and Luca Engstler (Kempten/Red Bull Team Abt) in the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 caused a 14-minute race interruption after about 10 minutes.
After the restart, the field returned to the 2.162-kilometer track on rain tires. Auer capitalized on a lapse in concentration by Maini and moved into third place.
Shortly afterward, the rain stopped, and the drivers switched back to slicks for their first mandatory pit stop. Wiebelhaus, who had changed tires slightly earlier, attacked race leader Thiim in the following laps.
However, the 37-year-old fended off every attack in his Aston Martin Vantage GT3, was able to extend his lead again, and after a perfect second pit stop, was clearly in the lead. After 62 laps, Thiim crossed the finish line as the winner, securing the maximum points haul of 66 for the weekend.
This feat was last achieved by Porsche driver Thomas Preining (AUT/Manthey) at the 2023 season finale in Hockenheim. Wiebelhaus and Auer followed in second and third place, respectively, while Maini finished fourth despite mediocre pit stops. Fifth place went to Jules Gounon (FRA/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter).
Thierry Vermeulen (NL/Emil Frey Racing) piloted his Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo to sixth position. Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) improved his position by five places to finish seventh, putting him second overall behind Thiim and ahead of Auer.
Porsche driver Bastian Buus (DK/Land-Motorsport) improved by seven positions to finish eighth, ahead of his fellow Porsche driver Preining. Local hero Marco Wittmann (Fürth/Schubert Motorsport) showed great fighting spirit in his home race, climbing from 18th to 10th.
