Thomas Preining won the second DTM race of the weekend this afternoon at the Norisring coming from second place on the grid to beat pole sitter René Rast. Rast finished second just half a second in front of yesterday’s winner Sheldon van der Linde. The result puts Preining, driving the #91 Manthey Porsche, back at the head of the championship with a 10-point lead over Sheldon van der Linde.
DTM NORISRING – SATURDAY | SUNDAY
QUALIFYING
René Rast driving the #33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 secured his first pole position for BMW in the DTM race at Norisring on Sunday. Rast set the fastest time of 48.662 seconds in the second qualifying session of the weekend, ahead of Thomas Preining in the #91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R and Sheldon van der Linde in the second Shubert Motorsport BMW.
The narrow track at Norisring makes overtaking difficult, making the pole position all the more important. Rast’s BMW is fast on straights but weaker on brakes, so would need to be careful not to make any mistakes if he wanted to hold onto the lead in the race.
Preining was looking to challenge Rast for the win, as he had shown strong pace all weekend. Van der Linde was also in contention , as he has been one of the most consistent drivers in the DTM this season.
The rest of the top 10 was rounded out by Ayhancan Güven in a Porsche, Mirko Bortolotti in a Lamborghini, Dennis Olsen in a Porsche, Luca Stolz in a Mercedes, and Kelvin van der Linde in an Audi.
Qualifying was split into two start groups, with Group B setting faster times than Group A. Grid positions were determined by both the times and the results in qualifying to account for the different conditions of the two groups.
The top 10 starting positions for the race:
- René Rast (BMW)
- Thomas Preining (Porsche)
- Sheldon van der Linde (BMW)
- Laurin Heinrich (Porsche)
- Ayhancan Güven (Porsche)
- Mirko Bortolotti (Lamborghini)
- Dennis Olsen (Porsche)
- Luca Stolz (Mercedes)
- Kelvin van der Linde (Audi)
- Marco Wittmann (BMW)
RACE
Under scorching midday heat on Sunday, Thomas Preining emerged victorious in the race, driving a Porsche 911 GT3 R andmarking his first win of the season, propelling him back to the top of the overall standings.
Following closely behind was René Rast, securing second place in the Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, while Sheldon van der Linde clinched third place, in the sister BMW M4 GT3.
In the initial stages of the race, Preining faced setbacks, losing two positions. However, a swift pit stop enabled him to regain momentum and climb back up to third place. Demonstrating his skill and determination, he executed overtakes on Sheldon van der Linde at the Grundig hairpin on both lap 38 and lap 46, ultimately taking the lead.
Mirko Bortolotti achieved a commendable fourth-place finish, racing in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Kelvin van der Linde secured fifth place, driving an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2, while Dennis Olsen claimed sixth place in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. Laurin Heinrich, Ayhancan Güven, Maro Engel, and Luca Stolz completed the top ten, finishing seventh to tenth, respectively, in various car models.
Amid the challenging conditions, Thomas Preining’s remarkable performance and strategic pit stop propelled him to victory, allowing him to celebrate a well-deserved triumph and regain his position at the top of the overall standings.
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