King of the Norisring: Nicki Thiim enjoys perfect weekend in Nuremberg

• Aston Martin driver scores the maximum 66 points on offer
• Finn Wiebelhaus celebrates his second podium in his eighth DTM race
• 118,500 visitors attend sold-out race weekend in Nuremberg

Nuremberg. Dream weekend for Nicki Thiim (DK/Comtoyou Racing) at the sold-out Norisring: the Aston Martin driver backed up his victory on Saturday by winning Sunday's race from pole position. The Dane's stunning brace was enough to catapult him to the top of the DTM table. "An unbelievable weekend for me! Two pole positions and two wins feel like a dream. After my father in 1992, my grand goal has always been for the name Thiim to one day return to the top of the table in the DTM. Finn Wiebelhaus put me under incredible pressure over the course of the race. My experience definitely helped me there," said Thiim, who received his trophy from the Minister President of the Free State of Bavaria, Dr. Markus Söder. Finn Wiebelhaus (Obertshausen/HRT Ford Racing), who made it into the prestigious series via the Road to DTM, also produced a great display at the street circuit in Nuremberg. He came home 0.887 seconds behind Thiim to take second place in a Ford Mustang GT3 and earn the second podium of his rookie season. Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) completed the podium, working his way to third place from fifth on the grid.

Key facts, Norisring, Nuremberg, race 8 of 16

• Circuit length: 2,162 metres
• Weather: 26 degrees, cloudy
• Pole position: Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 #7), 48.449 seconds
• Winner: Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 #7)
• Fastest lap: Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol, Mercedes-AMG GT3 #80), 49.242 seconds

It began to rain lightly at the Norisring shortly after the start of Sunday's race. At this point, all the drivers were on slicks. Pole-sitter Thiim led from Wiebelhaus, his team-mate Arjun Maini (IND) and Auer. Ten minutes into the race, increasingly heavy rain and a collision involving Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli (I/Emil Frey Racing) and Luca Engstler (Kempten/Red Bull Team Abt) in a Lamborghini Temerario GT3 caused the action to be suspended for 14 minutes. When the field returned to the 2.162-kilometre track on wet-weather tyres after the restart, Auer took advantage of a lack of concentration from Maini and climbed into third place.

Shortly after that, it stopped raining and the drivers used the first mandatory pit stop to switch back to slicks. Wiebelhaus, who had changed tyres a little earlier, attacked race leader Thiim in the subsequent laps. However, the 37-year-old, at the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage GT3, was able to fend off every attack. In fact, he actually extended his lead and had a clear advantage after a perfect second pit stop. Thiim took the chequered flag as the race winner after 62 laps. In doing so, he ensured that he scored the maximum 66 points available on any given race weekend. The last man to achieve this feat was Porsche driver Thomas Preining (A/Manthey) at the finale of the 2023 season in Hockenheim. Wiebelhaus and Auer followed in second and third place. Maini came home fourth, despite a poor pit stop. Fifth place went to Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter).

Thierry Vermeulen (NL/Emil Frey Racing) guided his Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo to sixth place. Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) climbed five place to finish seventh and no lies second in the table, behind Thiim and ahead of Auer. Porsche driver Bastian Buus (DK/Land-Motorsport) actually made up seven positions to come home eighth ahead of fellow Porsche racer Preining. Local favourite Marco Wittmann (Fürth/Schubert Motorsport) showed great fighting spirit at his home event, and battled his way to tenth place from 18th on the grid.

Finn Wiebelhaus: "I would really have loved to have won, but second place at my first race weekend at the Norisring is still a great result. The first few laps on the wet track were really challenging. After the first pit stop, I was able to close right in on Nicki Thiim. However, I just could not find a way past him."

Lucas Auer: "Third place feels like a win. The rain at the start really played into my hands, as I was able to overtake Arjun Maini at the restart. It was a great race for the fans. I really enjoyed driving in front of such a great backdrop. And I hope the many spectators enjoyed our show."

Result of race eight of the season at the Norisring
1. Nicki Thiim (DK/Comtoyou Racing)
2. Finn Wiebelhaus (D/HRT Ford Racing), +0.887 seconds
3. Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), +5.753 seconds
4. Arjun Maini (IND/HRT Ford Racing), +8.417 seconds
5. Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter), +9.178 seconds

The full result can be found at dtm.com/en/results.