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Richard Asher

DTM Sachsenring: Stolz scores first win of 2023 for Mercedes

The HRT driver enjoyed a perfect rolling start from pole position as his rivals tiptoed through the tight, technical opening sequence of corners.

Ten minutes later came a brief safety car intervention to clear debris. This destroyed the clear lead Stolz had already built up, but the German simply pulled away again.

He then pitted at the first opportunity when the window opened, despite this meaning a long second stint that would ask much of the tyres on a hot day.

The move ensured him track position over Thomas Preining, and he was able to manage a comfortable lead to the end and claim his second career DTM win.

Preining had run third behind Ayhancan Guven before the pitstops, but pitting one lap earlier and good work from his Manthey EMA crew vaulted him past the Turkish driver and into a runner-up position he would also hold to the end.

Guven kept Preining within sight to complete the podium, ahead of the battling ABT Audis of Ricardo Feller and Kelvin van der Linde.

Lamborghini star Mirko Bortolotti, who led the points battle coming into this weekend, had a rough day out at the twisty little Sachsenring track and lost the lead of the championship to Preining.

The Italian ran fourth before the pitstops, but then it all unravelled. His troubles began with an ABS problem that led to the rear wheels spinning while the car was jacked up during his pit visit.

Officials took a dim view and Bortolotti was immediately issued a slow-lap penalty. On top of all that, the SSR Performance driver had to contend with flat spots on his front tyres after a big lock-up exiting the pits.

Bortolotti had to settle for ninth place and will go into Sunday's second race with a six-point deficit to Preining.

 
 
       
Driver Info
 
 
 
   
Cla Driver # Car Laps Time Interval Pits Points
1 Germany L. Stolz Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 45 -     25
2 Austria T. Preining Manthey EMA 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R 45 +2.688 2.688   20
3 Turkey A. Güven KÜS Team Bernhard 24 Porsche 911 GT3 R 45 +0.942     16
4 Switzerland R. Feller Abt Sportsline 7 Audi R8 LMS Evo II 45 +6.968 6.026   13
5 South Africa K. van der Linde Abt Sportsline 3 Audi R8 LMS Evo II 45 +0.269     11
6 South Africa S. Van Der Linde Schubert Motorsport 1 BMW M4 GT3 45 +5.457 5.188   10
7 Norway D. Olsen Manthey EMA 90 Porsche 911 GT3 R 45 +0.355     9
8 Germany R. Rast Schubert Motorsport 33 BMW M4 GT3 45 +0.788 0.433   8
9 Italy M. Bortolotti SSR Performance 92 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 45 +7.735 6.947   7
10
T. Vermeulen Emil Frey Racing
69 Ferrari 296 GT3 45 +2.422     6
11
F. Perera SSR Performance
94 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 45 +0.461     5
12 Germany L. Heinrich KÜS Team Bernhard 75 Porsche 911 GT3 R 45 +1.464 1.003   4
13 India A. Maini Mercedes-AMG Team HRT 36 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 45 +0.591     3
14
J. Owega Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf
84 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 45 +5.393 4.802   2
15 Germany M. Dienst Toksport WRT 99 Porsche 911 GT3 R 45 +0.493     1
16
T. Heinemann Toksport WRT
9 Porsche 911 GT3 R 45 +0.614 0.121    
17 Germany D. Schumacher Mercedes-AMG Team Winward 27 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 45 +7.005 6.391    
18 Germany M. Wittmann Project 1 Motorsport 11 BMW M4 GT3 45 +0.690      
19 Germany L. Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler 8 Audi R8 LMS Evo II 45 +7.615 6.925    
20
S. Holzem Project 1 Motorsport
56 BMW M4 GT3 45 +5.145      
21 Italy A. Deledda SSR Performance 6 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 45 +7.939 2.794    
22 Switzerland P. Niederhauser Tresor Orange1 83 Audi R8 LMS Evo II 36 9 laps      
23 Austria L. Auer Mercedes-AMG Team Winward 22 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 35 1 lap      
24 Austria C. Schmid GRT Grasser Racing Team 63 Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 27 8 laps      
25 Germany M. Engel Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf 48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo 23 4 laps      
26 Italy M. Drudi Tresor Orange1 40 Audi R8 LMS Evo II 18 5 laps      
27 United Kingdom J. Aitken Emil Frey Racing 14 Ferrari 296 GT3 10 8 laps      
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