Marco Mapelli in the #10 Abt Sportsline Lamborghini Temerario GT3 took victory in a wet and exciting DTM Lausitzring Race 1 after staying out of trouble and leading the field after the pit stops.

Ben Dörr in the #25 Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo finished second, 1.864 seconds behind the winner, while Ricardo Feller in the #90 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R completed the podium in third place.

Update: Marco Mapelli has lost the Race 1 victory after receiving a 15-second time penalty for speeding under Full Course Yellow conditions. The #10 Abt Sportsline Lamborghini driver crossed the line first, but the penalty drops him to second in the revised classification.

Ben Dörr in the #25 Dörr Motorsport McLaren is therefore promoted to victory, while Ricardo Feller in the #90 Manthey Racing Porsche also received a 15-second penalty for the same offence but remains third.

Wet Start and Early Safety Car

The race started on a wet track, making the opening laps very challenging for all drivers.

Lucas Auer in the #22 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo made a strong start, while Maro Engel in the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo quickly passed Nicki Thiim and Arjun Maini. Jules Gounon in the #48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo also gained positions to move into second, giving Mercedes-AMG the top three places in the early stages.

Tom Kalender in the #84 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo spun during the opening laps but managed to continue without damage.

The first Safety Car came out after Bastian Buus in the #29 Land-Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R became stuck in the gravel.

Close Battles Across the Field

Several battles followed after the restart. Gounon fought with Auer for position, while Engel was under pressure from Matteo Cairoli in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo and Arjun Maini in the #36 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3. Cairoli moved up to third, ahead of Engel and Maini.

There was also a close fight between Thomas Preining in the #91 Manthey Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R, Nicki Thiim in the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo and Luca Engstler in the #130 Abt Sportsline Lamborghini Temerario GT3.

Thiim later climbed into the top five, while Race Control ordered Engstler to give a position back to Preining after an incorrect overtake.

The fight for the podium continued as Thiim passed both Cairoli and Engel. At the same time, Mapelli moved closer to the front and joined the leading group.

Full Course Yellow Changes the Order

The first group of front runners, including Lucas Auer, Maro Engel, Matteo Cairoli, Arjun Maini, Mirko Bortolotti, Thomas Preining, Luca Engstler and Kelvin van der Linde, completed their mandatory pit stops as the pit window opened.

There was also a tense moment in the pit lane as Kelvin van der Linde in the #3 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 Evo narrowly avoided two Lamborghini cars while exiting the pits.

Soon after, Timo Glock in the #16 Dörr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo stopped on track, bringing out a Full Course Yellow. Finn Wiebelhaus in the #64 HRT Ford Racing Ford Mustang GT3 retired after contact with Thierry Vermeulen in the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo. 

Mapelli and Dörr both came in for their pit stops around the same period when Glock stopped on track, which brought out the Full Course Yellow. After the pit sequence was completed, Mapelli was leading the race, with Dörr in second and Feller up to third. 

Luca Engstler’s race came to an early end after he retired with a technical problem.

Ben Dörr inherits the win

In the final part of the race, Maro Engel and Thomas Preining battled for position, with Engel pushing the Porsche off the track. Race Control showed the #80 Mercedes-AMG a black-and-white warning flag for the incident.

Meanwhile, Jules Gounon continued to put pressure on Lucas Auer in the fight for eighth place. Auer still left the race as the DTM championship leader with 70 points, while Engel stayed second with 62 points.

At the front, Mapelli stayed calm and controlled the race until the chequered flag. He claimed the win ahead of Ben Dörr and Ricardo Feller, before post-race penalties shook up the order.

Nicki Thiim finished fourth, followed by Marco Wittmann in fifth, Maximilian Paul in sixth, Thierry Vermeulen in seventh, Lucas Auer in eighth, Jules Gounon in ninth and Matteo Cairoli in tenth. 

Race Commissioner also handed Maro Engel a 15-second time penalty for speeding under a Full Course Yellow after briefly reaching 85 km/h in an 80 km/h zone, replacing the initially announced three pit stop penalties. Thierry Vermeulen also received a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Finn Wiebelhaus.

Attention now turns to Sunday, with Qualifying 2 set to begin at 09:05 CEST before Race 2 gets underway at 13:30 CEST, as the battle for the DTM championship continues at Lausitzring.

DTM LAUSITZRING | ENTRY LIST| QUALIFYING 1