Home heroes come out on top after the first DTM race of the season

Written by: Ayla Krachai                 

Credits: ADAC Motorsport

Manthay Porsche driver and local Styrian icon, Thomas Preining, claimed the first victory of the 2026 DTM season today at his home track, the Red Bull Ring. Less than a second behind him was the other Austrian on the grid, Lucas Auer, in the Mercedes‑AMG. 

Despite this, neither driver gained pole position. Auer’s teammate, Maro Engel, started at the front of the grid for the fourth time in his career. He lost his lead after a delayed pitstop as the left-rear wheel failed to attach; he consequently lost his lead to Preining. 

Credits: ADAC Motorsport

Auer also experienced a delayed pitstop, two laps after Engel’s, which dropped him behind Preining and Jules Gounon - Winward Mercedes driver - placing Auer in third place. He managed to fight back before and after a safety car period to finish second overall. DTM rookie and Land Porsche driver, Bastian Buus, came out in a successful fourth position for his first ever race, closely followed by Tom Kalender (Mercedes-AMG) and Marco Wittman (BMW). The safety car came on lap 2 when Ben Dörr collided with Buus and went into the barriers. A second safety car occurred later on when Nicolas Baert stopped off track, causing several drivers to lose their advantage gained and close midfield gaps. Preining still managed to control the restart confidently.

The midfield was where the most action occurred: Kelvin van der Linde made a decisive move on Lap 9, overtaking Matteo Cairoli for seventh place. Timo Glock immediately closed in and challenged him for sixth. 

Jules Gounon executed a triple overtake on Mirko Bortolotti, Arjan Maini and Thierry Vermeulen to climb back into ninth after being overtaken by Maini. 

The final laps saw many jostles for position: Preining defended from Gounon at the front until his car began smoking from the right rear causing him to lose pace immediately and drop out of the podium positions. Engel worked his way back up to the podium after losing the lead and intense battles brewed in the midfield with contact and Kelvin van der Linde’s BMW suffered a complete engine failure that caused him to stop on track.

Race Two will begin at 13:30 local time after a 09:35 qualifying session.

Credits: ADAC Motorsport