Hairpin holds the key: Thomas Preining claims his first win of the season

• Porsche driver wins at the Norisring after spectacular overtakes in the Grundig hairpin
• The two Schubert Motorsport drivers end Sunday’s race in second and third
• 102,000 spectators attend the third round of the DTM at the only street circuit in Germany

Munich. The Norisring remains a happy hunting ground for Thomas Preining (A) from the Manthey EMA team. On Sunday, he produced two spectacular overtaking manoeuvres in the Porsche 911 GT3 R to claim his first victory of the season and regain his place at the top of the overall standings. The first DTM win for the “Grello”, the neon yellow Manthey Porsche, made it six different winners in the six DTM races so far this season. Preining also tasted victory in the “Franconian Monaco” last year, when he presented Porsche with its first win in the DTM. “It was crazily eventful from start to finish, which demands the utmost concentration. With my overtaking manoeuvre, I braked late ahead of the hairpin and was then able to squeeze through the little gap on the inside and pass René Rast. It feels great to win a battle against such a fantastic racing driver as him,” said the delighted 24-year-old.

René Rast (Bregenz) came home second in the BMW M4 GT3, 2.181 seconds behind Preining. His team-mate Sheldon van der Linde (ZA) was third. The crowds witnessed a pulsating Sunday race, in which the drivers produced some fierce wheel-to-wheel battles. 102,000 fans visited Germany’s only street circuit for round three of this season’s DTM, and were royally entertained both on and off the track.

Key facts, Norisring, race 6 of 16

• Circuit length: 2,200 metres
• Weather: 34 degrees, sunny
• Pole position: René Rast (Schubert Motorsport, BMW M4 GT3 #33), 48.662 seconds
• Winner: Thomas Preining (Manthey EMA, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91)
• Fastest race lap: Kelvin van der Linde (Abt Sportsline, Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 #3), 49.552 seconds

In the first half of the race, which took place in scorching heat around midday on Sunday, a victory did not look likely for Preining, who lost two places and dropped back to fourth. Pole-sitter Rast was controlling the race from the front, followed by Sheldon van der Linde and Ayhancan Güven (TR) in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. A fast pit stop allowed Preining to climb one place into third, while Güven fell back after receiving a penalty. Then came Preining’s big moment: he overtook Sheldon van der Linde in the Grundig hairpin on lap 38, before repeating the manoeuvre at the same point to pass Rast and take the lead on lap 46. The Porsche works driver went on to take the chequered flag after 72 laps of racing, followed by the two BMWs.

Mirko Bortolotti (I) improved from sixth on the grid to finish fourth in his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Behind him, Audi racer Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) made up four positions. However, despite several attempts, he was unable to overtake the Italian in front of him. South African van der Linde did set the fastest lap of the race. Dennis Olsen from the Manthey EMA team came home sixth at the head of a Porsche trio. The Norwegian was followed home by Laurin Heinrich (Würzburg) and Güven in seventh and eighth place. Maro Engel (Monaco) from Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter produced the fightback of the day. The experienced 37-year-old battled back from 18th on the grid and was rewarded for his courageous effort with ninth place. Fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Luca Stolz (Brachbach) came home tenth in the heat of the Norisring.

Thomas Preining: “First and foremost, I must thank my team. The pit stop was at the right time and was one of the quickest. That allowed me to gain a place and close in on the leaders. The victory obviously feels good, but the BMWs are incredibly fast and will challenge at the front until the end of the season.”

René Rast: “When you start from the very front, you obviously want to win. On the other hand, it was a sensational weekend for Schubert Motorsport, with two poles, one win and three podiums. I had turned in before Thomas Preining’s manoeuvre. At that point, you are no longer looking in the mirror but at the corner. When I stepped on the gas again, I felt an impact on the left and he forced his way past me. I would have liked him to have given me the place back, but clerk of the course Sven Stoppe saw it differently.”

Sheldon van der Linde: “After the many poor results at the Norisring in recent years, our results this weekend were fantastic. My third place today feels like a win, as I was carrying an extra 20 kilograms after my success on Saturday. Unfortunately, I was held up a little by a slower car in front of me. That allowed Thomas Preining to close in on me quickly. We now head to the next race at the Nürburgring full of renewed vigour.”

Result of race 2 at the Norisring
1. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey EMA),
2. René Rast (D/Schubert Motorsport), +2.181 seconds
3. Sheldon van der Linde (ZA/Schubert Motorsport), +2.612 seconds
4. Mirko Bortolotti (I/SSR Performance), +3.453 seconds
5. Kelvin van der Linde (ZA/ABT Sportsline), +3.852 seconds

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