Dear Readers,
was Thomas Preining’s outcry – including a threat of resignation – the reason why Porsche was massively favored in Oschersleben by the Balance of Performance (BoP)? Nicki Thiim hinted exactly at that with his sarcastic statements – and Preining was indeed overwhelmingly superior. But where were the other Porsche drivers?
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Above all, the performance of Preining’s teammate Ricardo Feller raises questions: The Swiss is a top driver who already has five DTM victories to his name – and is driving the Manthey championship car of his predecessor Ayhancan Güven.
But while Preining, without the pit stop mishap in the second race, would most likely have secured the maximum points in Oschersleben with two poles and two victories, the 26-year-old Manthey newcomer only finished tenth and eighth after starting from eleventh and ninth positions. Only in free practice was Feller twice second behind Preining.
10:0 in the Qualifying Duel: Feller’s Sobering Season Record
It is striking that Feller is completely outmatched by Preining in his first Manthey season in the DTM. In the qualifying duel, it’s 10:0 for the 2023 DTM champion, and in the races, Feller finished ahead of Preining twice: In the second race in Spielberg, when Preining had 20 kilograms of success ballast on board, he finished twelfth, one place ahead of his teammate.
And at the Lausitzring, Feller finished third – because, like the other drivers on the podium, he benefited from race director Sven Stoppe’s unfortunate FCY decision during the pit stop.
The Oschersleben case is the easiest to explain: Feller was “only conditionally satisfied” with his two qualifying sessions – and on the twisty track, where overtaking is difficult, that’s half the battle. On Sunday, he was “only” three tenths behind Preining instead of four. And Preining loves the unspectacular but very technical track, which is much trickier than it looks from the outside – and has perfected his driving style for it.
Why Preining is Hard to Beat in Oschersleben
According to race operations manager Patrick Arkenau, Manthey trains its drivers to take very specific lines in Oschersleben. This also has to do with the Porsche 911 GT3 Evo, which drives very differently from the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II, which Feller is very familiar with from previous years.
The strength of the Porsche is its agility, which allows for significant lap time gains with an oversteer-tuned setup. This is a big challenge for the driver – and Preining, in particular, thrives on this driving behavior, where the driver constantly battles with the breaking-away vehicle.
“Ricardo needs a car that settles on the front axle and perhaps helps a little on the rear axle,” talent scout Peter Mücke, for whom Feller drove in his formula days, once told me. This should fundamentally suit the Porsche. In addition, Feller needs “an extremely strong front axle,” Kelvin van der Linde said during their time together at Abt. It may be that further adjustments are needed here.
Should Feller be Given More Time?
It is striking that Feller is a top performer in the Porsche in endurance racing: This is proven by victories in the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour classic together with Preining and Buus in the Lionspeed Porsche, and the IMSA victory in the “Grello” at Sebring with Preining and Klaus Bachler. However, in the DTM, the setup is optimized even more aggressively – everything is pushed closer to the limit.
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And Preining has not only known the vehicle and the driving style for many years, but also the Manthey team for almost four years, with whom he celebrated his greatest success, the DTM title, in 2023.
The protagonists understand each other blindly – and even the departure of Preining’s long-time race engineer Kai Störling during the season makes no difference, as race operations manager Arkenau took over the position from the Norisring onwards. And he has been one of Manthey’s absolute key figures for years.
The Güven Comparison Relieves Feller
Even for Güven, who joined Manthey in 2024, it took a long time until he knew how to properly utilize the Manthey system. In his first DTM season with the Nürburgring-based team, the Turk scored 69 points and finished 16th in the overall standings – the then defending champion Preining finished fifth with 158 points.
From this perspective, Feller’s interim balance looks better: Preining is fourth after five of eight weekends with 117 points, Feller is 14th with 64 points. And how Güven then exploded in 2025 is already DTM history.
Nevertheless, the pressure on Feller is enormous, because while Güven was relatively new to the DTM when he joined Manthey, the Swiss has been competing since 2022. And he already went through a crisis at Abt at the end of 2024 before giving his career new momentum with the Porsche switch and the extraordinary Land project around his own Audi.
Will the Manthey Home Race Bring a Breakthrough?
The extremely tense economic situation at Porsche does not make Feller’s situation any easier, because anything other than cuts in motorsport at the end of the year would be a surprise – and that also affects the driver lineup.
However, if one believes Feller’s former team boss Mücke, he performs at his best precisely under pressure. “No matter how strenuous the situation is, he gets into the car with a smile, for example in qualifying – and is eager to make the best of it. He thrives on pressure,” the Berliner once told me.
Exactly this strength is now required, because the Manthey home race at the Nürburgring is on the program. That would be a good time for a breakthrough.
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