DTM Norisring: Thomas Preining wins chaotic race

Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining clinched victory in the second race of the Norisring round in the 2025 DTM season.

Preining, who started from sixth on the grid, triumphed thanks to a flawless strategy, beating Emil Frey drivers Jack Aitken and polesitter Thierry Vermeulen, who completed the podium in second and third place respectively.

The race started with a dramatic incident in Turn 1, involving Marco Wittmann’s BMW, the Lamborghinis of Mirko Bortolotti and Nicki Thiim, and Jules Gounon’s Mercedes, all of which retired, while Morris Schuring’s Porsche was damaged. The red flag was waved to recover the stricken cars and clear debris from the track.

The race restarted behind the safety car with polesitter Vermeulen maintaining the lead from Aitken and Preining, who had jumped from sixth to third in the first start.

A full-course yellow was called by race control when Fabio Scherer (HRT Ford) suffered a loose wheel; Tom Kalender slowed down to meet the delta time, but his Mercedes was hit from behind by Gilles Magnus’ Aston Martin, and both had to retire.

“I wouldn’t say I braked too early – drivers just sometimes don’t anticipate it,” Kalender explained to ran.de. “I saw three or four seconds left on the dash, which is normal.

“That would’ve been the usual braking point. I don’t know what the other driver was thinking, but it happened. You can’t just vanish into thin air. It was a typical racing incident.”

Ayhancan Güven, Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3-R, Tom Kalender, Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3, Morris Schuring, Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3-R (Photo by: Alexander Trienitz)

Once the race resumed, the leading pack came in for their first pitstops, but leader Vermeulen was overcut by Aitken and Preining.

More attrition occurred in the second half of the race, with Ricardo Feller rear-ending Luca Engstler when braking for the first corner, which ended the Spa 24 Hours winner’s race while Feller was able to continue.

At the front, Preining was closing in on Aitken, trailing the Ferrari driver by less than a second. The 2023 DTM champion braked too late when he made his initial attack at the Dutzendteich hairpin, but then pitted one lap earlier; a swifter service from the Manthey squad put him right on Aitken’s tail after the latter’s second pitstop. Preining quickly took the lead to win by 1.5s.

"I’m obviously very happy – this win was really hard-fought today," Preining told ran.de. "I had a fantastic start, moving from sixth to third, which is tough on the outside here, but it worked out well. After that, it was a brutal battle with Jack.

"We overtook Thierry thanks to strategy. Jack didn’t give me an inch, but I think it was fair and great entertainment for the fans. As always, we had a full house here, and it was nice to deliver a cool show."

Maro Engel took fourth ahead of Arjun Maini and the third Emily Frey Ferrari driver, Ben Green. Rene Rast salvaged seventh position but dropped to sixth in the drivers’ standings, still led by Lucas Auer (Landgraf Mercedes), who finished eighth.

Preining is now tied on points with Saturday race winner Jordan Pepper, both of whom trail Auer by seven points.

The DTM will return in five weeks’ time at the Nurburgring, on 9-10 August.

Photos DTM Norisring

Fabio Scherer, Team HRT Ford Mustang GT3, René Rast, Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3

Race 2 results

1 - 2
Cla	Driver	#	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points
1	T. Preining Manthey EMA	91	Porsche 911 GT3 R	64	1:22'01.118			25
2	J. Aitken Emil Frey Racing	14	Ferrari 296 GT3	64	+1.592 1:22'02.710	1.592		20
3	T. Vermeulen Emil Frey Racing	69	Ferrari 296 GT3	64	+5.209 1:22'06.327	3.617		16
4	M. Engel Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	24	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	64	+9.851 1:22'10.969	4.642		13
5	A. Maini HRT Ford Performance	36	Ford Mustang GT3	64	+11.906 1:22'13.024	2.055		11
6	B. Green Emil Frey Racing	10	Ferrari 296 GT3	64	+16.599 1:22'17.717	4.693		10
7	R. Rast Schubert Motorsport	33	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	64	+17.963 1:22'19.081	1.364		9
8	L. Auer Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf	22	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	64	+18.196 1:22'19.314	0.233		8
9	J. Pepper TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT	63	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	64	+22.418 1:22'23.536	4.222		7
10	J. Gounon Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter	48	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	64	+23.122 1:22'24.240	0.704		6
11	A. Güven Manthey EMA	90	Porsche 911 GT3 R	64	+24.590 1:22'25.708	1.468		5
12	R. Feller Land-Motorsport	29	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	64	+24.758 1:22'25.876	0.168		4
13	M. Schuring Manthey Junior Team	92	Porsche 911 GT3 R	64	+26.102 1:22'27.220	1.344		3
14	N. Baert Comtoyou Racing	8	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	64	+27.179 1:22'28.297	1.077		2
15	B. Dörr Dörr Motorsport	25	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	64	+40.042 1:22'41.160	12.863		1
dnf	T. Glock Dörr Motorsport	16	McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	54	+10 Laps 1:14'53.050	10 Laps
dnf	L. Engstler TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT	19	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	31	+33 Laps 54'19.132	23 Laps
dnf	G. Magnus Comtoyou Racing	7	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	21	+43 Laps 46'17.961	10 Laps
dnf	T. Kalender Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf	84	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	21	+43 Laps 46'25.660	7.699
dnf	P. Maximilian Paul Motorsport	71	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	20	+44 Laps 45'02.431	1 Lap
dnf	F. Scherer HRT Ford Performance	64	Ford Mustang GT3	19	+45 Laps 44'42.986	1 Lap
dnf	M. Bortolotti Abt Sportsline	1	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	1	+63 Laps 4'59.201	18 Laps
dnf	M. Wittmann Schubert Motorsport	11	BMW M4 GT3 Evo	0
dnf	N. Thiim Abt Sportsline	2	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	0
View full results