Lucas Auer claimed his second DTM victory of the 2025 season with a commanding drive at the Dekra Lausitzring, leading from start to finish in the #22 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf GT3.

Starting from pole position with a blistering lap time of 1:19.827, the Austrian executed a flawless race, fending off a brief mid-race challenge from Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing’s Maro Engel. The win extends Auer’s lead in the DTM championship standings, with Jules Gounon moving into second overall after finishing the race in P4.

Top 5 Starting Grid – DTM Race 1, Dekra Lausitzring 2025:

  1. Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) – 1:19.827

  2. Ricardo Feller (Land-Motorsport) – +0.033

  3. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing) – +0.062

  4. Jules Gounon (Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER) – +0.146

  5. René Rast (Schubert Motorsport) – +0.169

Auer maintained the lead into Turn 1 while Engel surged into second place past Feller. Chaos unfolded further down the pack with early contact eliminating the #92 Manthey Junior Team Porsche of Morris Schuring and the #19 GRT Lamborghini of Lucas Engstler. A brief safety car period was required to clear debris.

At the restart, Auer led Engel and Rast, while Feller dropped to fourth, ahead of Gounon. Marco Wittmann in the #11 Schubert BMW executed a clean switchback to pass Gounon for fifth, forcing the Frenchman briefly into the gravel and under pressure from Thomas Preining (#91 Manthey EMA Porsche). However, Preining soon had to defend from Jack Aitken in the #14 Emil Frey Ferrari, easing the pressure on Gounon.

The battle for the top five continued to shift. Feller briefly regained P3 from Rast, but was soon passed by both Rast and Wittmann. Drama struck in the pit lane during the mandatory stops: the #71 Paul Motorsport Lamborghini lost critical time due to a runaway wheel nut, while a stuck nut hampered Timo Glock’s stop. An unnamed driver received a penalty for pit lane speeding.

Auer’s lightning-fast 6.5-second pit stop—the fastest of the race—kept him in contention. Engel’s in-lap before his own stop was rapid, and he rejoined just ahead of Auer. However, on warmer tyres, Auer quickly reclaimed the lead at Turn 1.

Gounon continued to charge through the field, overtaking Preining and then Wittmann, who was struggling with cold tyres. Engel held second place behind the dominant Auer, while the final podium spot was fiercely contested in the race’s closing stages.

René Rast ran third, with Gounon and Wittmann in close pursuit. Preining also remained within striking distance. With just three laps to go, Gounon dropped off Rast’s tail and was forced to defend from a resurgent Wittmann. In a gritty display, Gounon held firm to secure P4, behind Rast.

Final Top 5 – DTM Lausitzring Race 1 Results:

  1. Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf)

  2. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing)

  3. René Rast (Schubert Motorsport)

  4. Jules Gounon (Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER)

  5. Marco Wittmann (Schubert Motorsport)

Auer’s victory further cements his status as the 2025 DTM championship favorite as the series heads into the next round.

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