NUREMBERUG, Germany — Nicki Thiim (DK/Comtoyou Racing) returned to top form at the Norisring.
The Dane won the seventh championship race on Saturday on the sold-out street circuit in Nuremberg, securing Aston Martin’s first DTM victory.
It was Thiim’s second win at the Norisring; he also won there in 2024. The Dane dominated the race from the start and crossed the finish line first after 63 laps.
“To secure Aston Martin’s first DTM victory on my favorite track, the Norisring, feels incredible. This moment is already the highlight of the year for me. The race was briefly interrupted, which was a huge mental challenge. I’m all the happier for it,” said the 37-year-old.
Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) finished second, 0.587 seconds behind. This result puts the veteran driver in the lead of the drivers’ standings. Ford driver Arjun Maini (IND/HRT Ford Racing) rewarded himself with his first podium finish of the season, coming in third after another strong performance.
Polesitter Thiim maintained his lead after the start on Saturday afternoon and controlled the field from the front. Engel and Maini followed in second and third positions. While Engel and Maini made their mandatory pit stops very early, Thiim only switched to new Pirelli slicks late and rejoined the track in the lead ahead of Mercedes driver Engel.
Behind them, Maini and Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) engaged in a thrilling duel, which the Indian driver ultimately won.
Shortly afterward, in lap 34, an accident occurred between Kelvin van der Linde (ZA/Schubert Motorsport) and Maximilian Paul (Dresden/TGI Team by GRT). Paul’s Lamborghini collided with van der Linde’s BMW in the first corner – the accident resulted in a nearly one-hour interruption due to necessary repairs to the track barriers.
While van der Linde appeared uninjured according to initial assessments, Paul was taken to hospital with a suspected lower leg fracture.
After the restart, the order of the top four remained unchanged until the finish. Behind Thiim, Engel, Maini, and Auer, Thierry Vermeulen (NL/Emil Frey Racing) finished fifth in his Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.
Finn Wiebelhaus (Obertshausen/HRT Ford Racing) secured sixth place in the second Ford Mustang GT3. Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) finished the seventh championship race in seventh position. Mirko Bortolotti (I/TGI Team by GRT) was the best-placed Lamborghini driver, finishing eighth. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey) had pitted for a tire change in his Porsche 911 GT3 R shortly before the accident and improved his position by several places to fourth thanks to the pit stop during the full-course yellow. However, the Austrian was unable to maintain this position and finished ninth. Ben Dörr (Butzbach/Dörr Motorsport) completed the top ten in the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.
