Crazy weather, torrential rain and red flags cannot stop Kelvin van der Linde

• South African driver wins a memorable race at the Lausitzring to take the lead in the DTM standings
• Maro Engel applies strategic skills to move up eleven places, finishing second
• Torrential rain interrupts proceedings twice at the third DTM race

Klettwitz. Torrential rain and two race interruptions were not enough to stop Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) on Saturday at the Dekra Lausitzring. The Audi driver from Abt Sportsline stayed cool despite the sometimes adverse conditions to celebrate his sixth DTM victory after 38 laps. “What a chaotic race. The fact that I was able to defend the lead during the hectic opening phase was the key to my success. Out in front, I enjoyed much better visibility. Nonetheless, this was still racing at the limit, as there was so much water on the track, particularly at the start,” explained van der Linde, whose win took him to the top of the standings. Second place went to Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Winward), 2.5 seconds back in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, thanks to some smart tactics. Defending champion Thomas Preining (A) finished third in the Porsche 911 GT3 R from the Manthey EMA team.

Key Facts, Lausitzring, Race 3 of 16

• Track length: 3,478 metres
• Weather: 23 degrees, rain
• Pole position: Kelvin van der Linde (Abt Sportsline, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 #3), 1:20.706 minutes
• Winner: Kelvin van der Linde (Abt Sportsline, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 #3)
• Fastest race lap: Kelvin van der Linde (Abt Sportsline, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 #3) 1:24.399 Minuten

Pole-Setter Kelvin van der Linde managed to defend his lead after the race started at 17:00. He was followed in second place by his team-mate Ricardo Feller (CH), who passed Preining at the start to push him down into third. However, dark clouds heralded the advent of rain, which gained in strength and forced all the drivers to switch to wet-weather tyres. The standing water on the track was several centimetres deep at times, imposing two race interruptions on the stars of the DTM. After a break of around 30 minutes, the championship race restarted behind the safety car, the new Cupra Formentor VZ. Engel had been one of the first to put on wet-weather tyres and now took a big leap forward, moving up from 13th to second place.

Behind Engel, the mandatory pit stops caused some chaos throughout the field. Preining was able to move up to third place, while Lucas Auer (A) from the Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter finished the double-red-flag DTM race in fourth position. Feller rounded off the top five. The best BMW driver was Sheldon van der Linde (ZA) from Schubert Motorsport in sixth place. He was followed by Arjun Maini (IN/Mercedes-AMG Team HRT) and Lamborghini driver Nicki Thiim (DK/SSR Performance) in seventh and eighth positions. Christian Engelhart (Starnberg) from the Lamborghini Team TGI by GRT crossed the line in ninth place, while Luca Stolz drove the Mercedes-AMG GT3 from HRT to tenth position.

The second qualifying session at the Lausitzring starts at 9:40 on Sunday. Fans can follow qualifying live on the ran.de stream. ProSieben is showing all 16 races this season live on free TV. The broadcasts begin half an hour before the start of the race on each Saturday and Sunday. The championship races are broadcast live or re-live worldwide to more than 150 countries.

Maro Engel: “A really good result for us! The first lap went pretty badly for me, but we reacted right away and switched to wet-weather tyres. That was a brilliant decision from my engineer. You don’t really have a chance against Kelvin van der Linde, he was simply going round too fast.”

Thomas Preining: “After starting the season poorly in Oschersleben, it just feels great to be back in the top spots. The conditions were extremely challenging. You can win big in races like this, but the smallest error can have huge consequences. It was unbelievably slippery on the track at times. I am just delighted that we made it to the podium.”

Result, 3rd race, Dekra Lausitzring
1. Kelvin van der Linde (ZF/Abt Sportsline)
2. Maro Engel (D/Mercedes-AMG Team Winward), +2.547 seconds
3. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey EMA), +11.140 seconds
4. Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter), +12.344 seconds
5. Ricardo Feller (CH/Abt Sportsline), +14.590 seconds