DTM Red Bull Ring: Thomas Preining beats Maro Engel to win opener

Motorsport photo

Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining won the DTM season opener at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

The Austrian, who started from third on the grid,  benefited from a botched pit stop by polesitter Maro Engel in the Winward Mercedes to take the spot.

Landgraf driver and local hero Lucas Auer finished second, while Engel came home in third to complete an all-Mercedes podium. DTM rookie Bastian Buus (Land Porsche) took a strong fourth place in his debut, followed by Tom Kalender (Landgraf Mercedes) and Schubert BMW driver Marco Wittmann.

Timo Glock finished in seventh position with his Dorr-McLaren, but still has reason to worry. The German had to complete a penalty lap in the second half of the race after his tyres spun during the pit stop while the McLaren was still jacked up.

According to the race stewards' initial impression, the penalty lap was not executed correctly, which is why the Dorr driver may face a further sanction after the race. Arjun Maini (HRT Ford), Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey Ferrari) and Riccardo Feller (Manthey Porsche) complete the top 10.

Safety car phase after early Dorr accident

After the start, the expected chaos in the first corner failed to materialise: Engel confidently converted his pole position into the lead, followed by Preining and Auer. Behind them, an intense battle for the remaining positions was already underway.

At the start of the second lap, a collision occurred behind the leading group between Ben Dorr and Buus. Dorr was forced wide in the first corner and had to brake slightly to maintain control of his car.

Buus was caught off guard and lightly clipped the German's rear, causing him to spin, slide off the track and crash backwards into the barrier. Dorr escaped uninjured, but his McLaren was damaged, necessitating the deployment of the safety car.

Conflict between Schubert BMW teammates

At the subsequent restart, Engel defended his lead, while Preining and Auer engaged in a fierce battle for second place, which the Manthey Porsche driver ultimately won. Until the pit stop window opened, there were numerous thrilling battles in the midfield.

The two Schubert BMW team-mates, Wittmann and Kelvin van der Linde, were battling for eighth position, even making slight contact in the process. "That was moving under braking," Wittmann complained loudly over the team radio afterwards.