DTM Race Oschersleben 2: Bortolotti snatches victory after Manthey blunder

– Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser-Lamborghini) wins the second DTM race (results) in Oschersleben: The Italian initially moved up to second place thanks to an overcut during the first pit stop and then benefited from a botched tire change by Manthey-Porsche driver Thomas Preining, who had confidently controlled the race until then.

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“Yes, unfortunately awesome. Unbelievable. I have to say, I can’t believe it,” Bortolotti cheered after the race on ProSieben. “We all know how difficult the year is for us. Basically, it’s been a difficult year and a half for me. It feels extremely good to be back on top, here in DTM.”

It is the Lamborghini driver’s fifth DTM victory, but his first success since October 2024, when he triumphed in Spielberg. “That’s why I’m happy to be back on the very top step of the podium. It feels mega good. And the race was simply a masterclass from start to finish. Nobody gave us anything, but we don’t want that either, we’re not used to it. That’s why it just feels so good.”

Wittmann misses podium at Schubert home race

Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) took second position on Sunday, followed by unlucky Preining, who had to defend against Marco Wittmann’s Schubert-BMW in the final phase. The driver from Fürth had fresher tires after his retirement the previous day, but couldn’t find a way past the Manthey-Porsche.

“Of course, we had hoped for a bit more from this race, especially since we had a clear tire advantage, but as you can see, we couldn’t use it,” Wittmann, who was struggling with a gastrointestinal infection, was visibly disappointed on ProSieben. “My goal was at least a home podium for Team Schubert.”

“I still believe, considering the circumstances, that it was one of, if not the most difficult and physically demanding race weekend I’ve had. P4 is a good result, but of course, when you’re close, you want to fight for the podium, but I don’t think we simply had the pace for that today.”

Lucas Engstler (Abt-Lamborghini) finished fifth, followed by Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford) and Kelvin van der Linde in the Schubert-BMW. Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche), Jules Gounon (Winward-Mercedes) and Matteo Cairolo (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) completed the top 10.

Engstler attacks Preining at the start, but …

As on the previous day, pole-sitter Preining initially converted his pole position into the lead. Although Engstler briefly pulled ahead in the first corner, he then drifted slightly off the ideal line. This allowed the Manthey-Porsche driver to counter on the inside and regain the top position.

Engstler held onto second place against Arjun Maini, who had overtaken Marco Wittmann at the start. Behind the Schubert-BMW driver, his teammate Kelvin van der Linde, Mirko Bortolotti, and Maro Engel lined up after the initial phase.

By the time the first pit stop window opened, Preining, who had to drive with a 20-kilogram success ballast after his victory the previous day, had already built up a lead of just over a second, with Engstler at times setting the fastest lap of the race and reducing his deficit.

Nicki Thiim was the first driver to pit for the first pit stop. After a tire error in qualifying, he had to start the race almost from the back of the field and therefore opted for an alternative strategy. The drivers from the leading group, however, stayed out significantly longer before coming in for their first tire change.

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Bortolotti benefits from a late pit stop

Kelvin van der Linde was the first driver from the top 6 in the pits, followed by Maini and Wittmann, who stopped a lap later. However, the hoped-for undercut against the leaders did not materialize, as Preining defended his lead despite his later tire change.

Engel and Bortolotti, on the other hand, also benefited from their late stop and moved into the top 3, while Engstler fell back to fourth place behind them. During the Abt-Lamborghini driver’s pit stop, not everything went according to plan due to a problem with the left impact wrench.

On the track, the action remained manageable, as it had been on Saturday. Although there were some position battles within the top 10 until the second pit stop window, especially between Maini and Wittmann for fifth place, decisive overtaking maneuvers did not occur.

Even a light rain shower that passed over the track about halfway through the race brought no changes. At the front, however, Bortolotti managed to temporarily reduce the gap to leader Preining to less than a second.

Preining loses victory at the second pit stop

The second pit stop finally brought the decisive turning point. The top 4 came in together for the final tire change, but Preining’s stop went completely wrong. The Manthey-Porsche driver lost valuable time in the pits and consequently fell back to third place.

Bortolotti took the lead ahead of Maro Engel. For Preining, the fight for victory was over; instead, the Porsche driver had to defend against Wittmann in the final phase. With third place, the 2023 DTM champion at least managed to limit the damage.

Maro Engel further extended his lead in the DTM overall standings with second place. The AMG driver remains ahead of Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin) and brand colleague Lucas Auer, who only finished twelfth in the Landgraf-Mercedes.

“I’m absolutely thrilled,” admitted overall leader Engel on ProSieben. “It was a super strong weekend. But as we’ve said so often, no one can win the championship today or at the Nürburgring yet. So keep our feet on the ground, keep working. We’re absolutely delighted with the weekend.”

The next two races of the 2026 DTM season (here’s the full race calendar!) will take place in three weeks (August 14-16) at the Nürburgring. Last year, former DTM drivers Jack Aitken (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) on Saturday and Rene Rast (Schubert-BMW) on Sunday celebrated race victories there.

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