Wittmann wins captivating Eifel thriller for 20th DTM victory

• BMW driver shows nerves of steel to defend narrow lead over Tom Kalender
• Preining finishes third and moves to within one point of the top of the table
• Brilliant DTM weekend at the Nürburgring delights 81,000 fans

Nürburg. Nerves of steel and tactically smart: Marco Wittmann (Fürth/Schubert Motorsport) claimed his 20th DTM victory on Sunday at the Nürburgring. The 36-year-old's impressive race featured early and fast pit stops, as well as clean overtaking manoeuvres. The BMW racer took the lead in the final third of a wild race, and went on to take his first DTM win for two years. "The 20th victory means a huge amount to me! I have experienced many highs and lows across all my years in the DTM. It feels fantastic to be right at the front of the field on our own merits. The race was chaotic at times, but I kept a clear head, even when it was really tight in the closing stages," said Wittmann. Tom Kalender (Hamm/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) produced a sensational performance: the youngster made up nine places to cross the finish line second and claim the first podium of his DTM career. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey) came home third and narrowly missed out on moving to the top of the table. The Austrian now trails championship leader Maro Engel (Monaco/Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) by just one point. The 40-year-old failed to finish after a collision on the opening lap. As a result, he left empty-handed on Sunday for the first time in 18 DTM races. 81,000 visitors enjoyed a hot race weekend at the Nürburgring, with many overtaking manoeuvres and hard-fought battles.

Key facts, Nürburgring, Nürburg, race 12 of 16

• Circuit length: 3,629 metres
• Weather: 27 degrees, sunny
• Pole position: Jules Gounon (Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter, Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo #48), 1:25.062 minutes
• Winner: Marco Wittmann (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 R #11)
• Fastest lap: Finn Wiebelhaus (HRT Ford Racing, Ford Mustang GT3 #64), 1:25.988 minutes

Shortly after the start of race twelve of the DTM season, there was a collision in turn one at the Nürburgring, resulting in an appearance by the safety car. Championship leader Engel was forced to retire his Mercedes-AMG GT3, as was fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), who consequently drops to fourth in the table. The race also came to a premature end for Kelvin van der Linde (ZA/Schubert Motorsport). After the restart, pole-sitter Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) took an early lead, ahead of Ben Dörr (Butzbach/Dörr Motorsport) and Matteo Cairoli (I/Emil Frey Racing). Wittmann had climbed one position into fourth, and then slotted into second place behind Gounon after an early pit stop. Dörr retired with an incorrectly mounted rear tyre, while Cairoli dropped well down the field after a poor pit stop. Preining, who climbed into third, was the beneficiary. Shortly thereafter, Wittmann moved to the head of the field in his BMW M4 GT3 Evo, as Gounon was forced to complete a penalty lap for speeding, and consequently dropped down the standings.

Wittmann and Preining defended their positions after the second tyre change. Kalender, on the other hand, opted for a late stop and returned to the track in fifth place on fresh Pirelli slicks. The 18-year-old produced some skilful overtaking manoeuvres to fight his way into third place. The Mercedes-AMG driver went on the attack against Preining, and passed the Austrian with one lap remaining. Kalender even managed to close in on race leader Wittmann, but it was the BMW man who crossed the finish line first after 39 eventful laps of racing.

Wittmann, Kalender and Preining were followed home in fourth and fifth place by Arjun Maini (IND/HRT Ford Racing) and Mirko Bortolotti (I/TGI Team by GRT) in a Lamborghini Temerario GT3. Luca Engstler (Kempten/Red Bull Team Abt) finished sixth in another Lamborghini. Aston Martin works driver Nicki Thiim (DK/Comtoyou Racing) came home seventh and climbed into third place in the overall standings. Timo Glock (Kreuzlingen) steered the second McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Dörr Motorsport to eighth place. Marco Mapelli (I/Red Bull Team Abt) followed in ninth, ahead of Porsche driver Bastian Buus (DK/Land-Motorsport).

Tom Kalender: "When I ran to my team after the podium ceremony, I saw more happy faces than I've ever seen before. In just four years, I have made it from karting to the DTM podium. It is impossible to describe this feeling. After my DNF on Saturday, I still had a fresh set of tyres up my sleeve. That naturally helped me in the battle with Thomas Preining."

Thomas Preining: "A super home race for the team! I was extremely lucky at the start that I was just able to avoid the collision involving the cars next to me. I would have liked to have hung on to second place, and did everything I could, but there was simply no stopping Tom Kalender. We are now right in the thick of the title race, and that is something we have worked hard for."

Result of race 12 of the season at the Nürburgring, Nürburg
1. Marco Wittmann (D/Schubert Motorsport)
2. Tom Kalender (D/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), +0.517 seconds
3. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey), +0.918 seconds
4. Arjun Maini (IND/HRT Ford Performance), +2.571 seconds
5. Mirko Bortolotti (I/TGI Team by GRT), +3.112 seconds

The full result is available at dtm.com/en/results.