The opening race of the DTM weekend at the Nürburgring combined chaos, strategy, and near-identical pace at the front. A closer look at the numbers show how Jack Aitken in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 came out on top ahead of Ben Green and Ricardo Feller.

Leaders and how they led

The lap chart shows four distinct lead phases:

  • Laps 1–22: Jack Aitken (#14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3) led from pole until his pit stop at the end of lap 22.
  • Lap 23: René Rast (#33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) led at the line while pitting that lap. Behind him, Ricardo Feller briefly passed Aitken on the back straight but overshot the chicane, allowing Aitken back through before the end of the lap.
  • Laps 24–28: Ricardo Feller (#29 Audi Sport Team Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3) quickly took back the lead early in lap 24 and held it for five laps.
  • Laps 29–39: Aitken retook the lead with a firm pass and stayed there to the flag.

Pit stop strategies

Crucial for the shaping of the second half of the race was Ricardo Feller’s early pitstop. Pitting first among the leaders on lap 14, with a stationary time of 7.9 seconds and a net loss of 37.549 seconds, he set himself up for a challenge for the lead. Ben Green stopped on lap 20 (stationary 9.0s; net 38.923s) and Aitken on lap 22 (stationary 8.5s; net 38.599s).

Feller’s early stop helped him gain track position and briefly control the race after the pit cycle. However, with more tyre life left in Aitken’s Ferrari after his later stop, the Briton was able to pressure Feller in the closing stages, retake the lead on lap 29, and manage the pace to the chequered flag.

Quickest net pitstops

  1. Jules Gounon (#48 Mercedes-AMG Team MANN-FILTER Mercedes-AMG GT3) – 35.838s
  2. Thomas Preining (#91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R) – 36.251s
  3. Maro Engel (#24 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3) – 36.387s
  4. Jordan Pepper (#63 TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT Lamborghini Huracán GT3) – 36.816s
  5. Marco Wittmann (#11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) – 36.962s

These numbers underline just how much time is won or lost in pit lane: the gap between the fastest and slowest stationary stops was over three seconds.

Pace snapshot

Fastest laps

  1. Ricardo Feller (#29 Audi Sport Team Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 1:26.874 (Lap 20)
  2. Jack Aitken (#14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3) – 1:26.937 (Lap 26)
  3. René Rast (#33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) – 1:27.028 (Lap 28)
  4. Marco Wittmann (#11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) – 1:27.184 (Lap 20)
  5. Ben Green (#10 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3) – 1:27.134 (Lap 26)

Perfect laps (sum of each driver’s best sectors)

  1. Ricardo Feller (#29 Audi Sport Team Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 1:26.703
  2. René Rast (#33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) – 1:26.827
  3. Jack Aitken (#14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3) – 1:26.856
  4. Marco Wittmann (#11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) – 1:27.072
  5. Thomas Preining (#91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R) – 1:27.146

Feller’s perfect lap was 0.171 seconds faster than his actual best, showing there was still a little time left in combining his best sector runs.

Sector standouts

  • Sector 1: René Rast (#33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3) – 24.995s
  • Sector 2: Ricardo Feller (#29 Audi Sport Team Land-Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3) – 33.958s
  • Sector 3: Jack Aitken (#14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3) – 27.803s

Top speeds

  1. Arjun Maini (#36 HRT Ford Mustang GT3), Fabio Scherer (#64 HRT Ford Mustang GT3) – 247 km/h
  2. Gilles Magnus (#7 Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage GT3) – 246 km/h
  3. Nicolas Baert (#8 Comtoyou Aston Martin Vantage GT3) – 244 km/h
  4. René Rast (#33 Schubert BMW M4 GT3) – 243 km/h
  5. Marco Wittmann (#11 Schubert BMW M4 GT3) – 242 km/h

The Ford Mustang GT3 was the clear king of the straights, with both HRT-run cars topping the entire field at 247 km/h. This straight-line dominance suggests the Mustang has both the grunt and the gearing to make full use of the flat-out sections.

Aston Martin also proved formidable in top-end performance, with Gilles Magnus and Nicolas Baert locking out second and third on the list at 246 km/h and 244 km/h.

BMW placed strongly in the high-speed rankings, with both René Rast and Marco Wittmann in the top five, underlining the M4 GT3’s balanced blend of aero efficiency and power delivery.

By contrast, Lamborghini entries were notably absent from the upper reaches of the trap speed chart, their best runners languishing in the 238-240 km/h range. This suggests the Huracán GT3 is either running more downforce or lacks a little in outright straight-line punch compared to Ford, Aston, and BMW.

Sunday set for another close battle

With clear skies and mild 21°C temperatures forecast for Sunday, track conditions should be consistent from lights to flag, a rare treat at the Nürburgring. Ben Green and Jordan Pepper will start further back due to grid penalties, adding another twist to the fight at the front. With Feller’s raw pace, Aitken’s consistency, and several teams showing rapid pit work on Saturday, the second race of the weekend has all the ingredients for another close battle.

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