Fantastic Ferrari at the Nürburgring: Cairoli celebrates his third DTM win

• Italian claims impressive lights-to-flag victory in the Eifel region
• Preining finishes runner-up at his Manthey team's home outing
• Championship leader Engel finishes sixth to defend to spot in the table

Nürburg. Matteo Cairoli (I/Emil Frey Racing) won the eleventh DTM race of the season in commanding fashion at the Nürburgring on Saturday. The Ferrari driver started from pole and managed the race superbly in high temperatures, taking the chequered flag after 39 laps with a lead of almost ten seconds. "This win feels awesome after the rather disappointing weekends of late. Our team has done a mega job in the past few weeks, and has done everything it can to get us back on track. That has really paid dividends. First pole position, then victory and the fastest lap - the car was an absolute rocket," said a delighted Cairoli, who already has three wins to his name in his rookie season in the DTM. Porsche driver Thomas Preining (A) was runner-up at the home circuit of his Manthey team. Third place went to Marco Wittmann (Fürth/Schubert Motorsport) in a BMW M4 GT3 Evo.

Key facts, Nürburgring, Nürburg, race 11 of 16

• Circuit length: 3,629 metres
• Weather: 34 degrees, sunny
• Pole position: Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo #14), 1:25.345 minutes
• Winner: Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo #14)
• Fastest lap: Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey Racing, Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo #14), 1:26.031 minutes

Pole-sitter Cairoli made a perfect start to take an early lead, followed by Preining. Behind him, Ben Dörr (Butzbach/Dörr Motorsport) slotted into third place ahead of Wittmann and Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), who lost two places. While there were some fierce battles further down the field, the gaps between the top five remained constant. 30-year-old Cairoli had opened a lead of more than three seconds by the time he came in for his mandatory pit stop, and returned to the track in first place again after a rapid tyre change.

Preining had come in a lap earlier to put a new set of Pirelli slicks on his Porsche 911 GT3 R. However, despite closing the gap to the Italian, he never managed to get within striking distance. Wittmann overtook Dörr after an early pit stop, and Auer remained fifth. While Cairoli continued to extend his lead, Dörr closed back in on Wittmann, but was unable to put the experienced man from Fürth under any real pressure. The Ferrari driver eventually wrapped up his third win with a big lead, and now has more wins to his name this season than any other DTM driver. Second place was enough to propel Preining into second in the overall standings. Wittmann and Dörr followed in third and fourth place. Auer came home fifth and remains third in the table.

Championship leader Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) intelligently stayed clear of any robust battles, finishing sixth and retaining his lead in the Drivers' Championship. The best-placed Lamborghini racer was Luca Engstler (Kempten/Red Bull Team Abt) in seventh. Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) came home eighth. Ricardo Feller (CH) ended race eleven of the season in ninth place in the second Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R. Bastian Buus (DK) completed the top ten in a Land-Motorsport 911.

Thomas Preining: "A super race by us! It was important to defend second place at the start. Matteo Cairoli was simply too fast to put him under any serious pressure. The 20 points are important for the championship. We have to continue exactly as we left off on Sunday. I have been driving for Manthey for so many years, that the Nürburgring weekend feels like a home event, even for me as an Austrian."

Marco Wittmann: "The Nürburgring is a circuit that just suits me. We have been among the front-runners since the first practice session on Friday, and have not had to make any major adjustments to the set-up over the course of the weekend. As a driver, that gives you the confidence you need in a DTM race. I did a lot of looking in my mirror in the final few laps, so I am delighted with the result."

Result of race 11 of the championship at the Nürburgring, Nürburg
1. Matteo Cairoli (I/Emil Frey Racing)
2. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey), +9.973 seconds
3. Marco Wittmann (D/Schubert Motorsport), +13.756 seconds
4. Ben Dörr (D/Dörr Motorsport), +14.569 seconds
5. Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), +15.373 seconds

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