DTM Red Bull Ring Race 1 saw Thomas Preining in the #91 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R take victory after a strong and controlled performance throughout the race.

Maro Engel in the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo made a very smooth start and initially led the race. However, there was early chaos.

Early Collision

At the start of the second lap, a collision occurred behind the leading group between Ben Dörr in the #25 Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and Bastian Buus in the #29 Land-Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R. Dörr was forced to retire due to the damage. This incident promoted Preining to second place and Lucas Auer in the #22 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to third.

Engel Loses Lead After Pit Stop

Engel continued to lead the race until the pit window opened. Timo Glock in the #16 Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo and Ricardo Feller in the #90 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R were the first drivers to go into the pits for new tyres. In the following laps, more drivers headed into the pits, with Preining among the first from the leading group. Meanwhile, Engel and Auer stayed out longer on track.

When Engel finally made his pit stop, it lasted around 12.5 seconds, which caused him to drop down the order. After all pit stops were completed, Preining moved into the race lead, followed by Jules Gounon in the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and Auer, while Engel dropped to fourth place.

Further down the order, there was a close battle for the top ten between Marco Wittmann in the #11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo, Kelvin van der Linde in the #3 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo, Tom Kalender in the #84 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, and Matteo Cairoli in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

Preining leads despite late Safety Car

Preining then built a strong gap at the front before a Safety Car was deployed after Nicolas Baert in the #8 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo stopped in the gravel. After the race resumed, Preining kept control of the lead.

In the closing minutes, Gounon had to retire his Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo due to unexpected suspension damage, which changed the race order. Preining stayed in the lead, followed by Auer and Engel.

On the final lap, Kelvin van der Linde in the #3 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo stopped on track due to a lack of oil pressure, bringing out another Safety Car. Despite this, Preining remained in control and crossed the finish line to take the win.

Solid DTM Debut for Buus

Bastian Buus recovered well from the earlier incident to finish fourth on his DTM debut.

Tom Kalender in the #84 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo completed the top five, ahead of Marco Wittmann in sixth place.

Timo Glock in the #16 Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo finished seventh, followed by Arjun Maini in the #36 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 in eighth.

Matteo Cairoli in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo secured ninth place on his DTM debut, while Ricardo Feller in the #90 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R completed the top ten.

The action continues on Sunday with Qualifying 2 scheduled from 09:30 to 09:50, followed by Race 2 from 13:30 to 14:30 local time.