DTM Race Sachsenring 2: Dörr wins chaotic race ahead of Preining, Engel slips up

– The winner of a completely crazy Sunday race at the Sachsenring is Ben Dörr. The Dörr-McLaren driver was unstoppable and triumphed despite a crazy tire gamble at the start and a later safety car phase that wiped out his comfortable lead.

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Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) finished second, making a big step towards the championship. Because rival Maro Engel, who started from pole position, finished fifth, but the AMG driver still faces a possible penalty.

Engel collided with the rear of Kelvin van der Linde’s Schubert-BMW shortly before the end of the race, taking the South African out of the race. Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche) finished third, followed by Matteo Cairoli, who made a strong comeback on the asphalt from 14th on the grid.

Lucas Auer (Landgraf-Mercedes) finished sixth, ahead of Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) and Thierry Vermeulen in the Emil-Frey-Ferrari. Lucas Engstler (Abt-Lamborghini) and Bastian Buus (Land-Porsche) completed the top 10 in a completely crazy race that offered plenty of chaos.

No rain, but: tire gamble before the race start

The start phase already posed a difficult decision for teams and drivers: Although the rain over the Sachsenring had cleared and no new precipitation was in sight, the morning qualifying had already shown that the asphalt on the rollercoaster track dries only slowly.

Accordingly, the tire choice was initially very different: While pole sitter Engel and title rival Preining opted for slick tires, Feller chose rain tires. Then the problem: the start was delayed by ten minutes due to a dirty track.

The teams thus had another chance to reconsider their decision and now mostly chose slick tires. Only Buus, Vermeulen, Primm, Glock, Thiim, and Kalender finally started the race on treaded tires – and were exactly right to do so.

Because after just a few meters, pole sitter Engel slid into the gravel trap for the first time. However, the AMG driver was able to free himself and regain his lead. The race control decided on two formation laps, with the race distance already starting after the first lap ended.

Buus storms into the lead on rain tires, but …

The actual race start was correspondingly chaotic: Buus stormed from fifth on the grid to the front in the first meters, followed by Engel and Feller. Meanwhile, there were several spins and off-track excursions in the backfield, including from Auer and guest starter Primm in the Audi.

Vermeulen and Glock also benefited from their tire choice and moved up to third and sixth places. After a few laps, however, the track had dried enough that drivers on slick tires increasingly had the advantage.

At this point, Buus had already pulled more than three seconds ahead at the front, but the competition quickly closed the gap. At the start of the fifth lap, Dörr, who had also passed pole sitter Engel in the meantime, finally took the lead.

Engel, on the other hand, struggled increasingly and engaged in a tough battle with Buus. This also brought van der Linde, Preining, and Feller within striking distance. Both the BMW driver and Preining soon overtook the pole sitter, who had already fallen back to fourth position.

Ben Dörr lights a firework at the front

With the opening of the first pit stop window, all drivers on rain tires came directly for a tire change. Engel meanwhile had to give way to Engstler. The Winward team had apparently gambled on high tire pressures, which gave Engel an advantage in the start phase but became a problem with rising tire temperatures.

Dörr lit a firework at the front and within a few laps had already pulled more than ten seconds ahead of the competition. Kelvin van der Linde had to defend his second place against Preining and Engstler. This also brought fourth-placed Engel closer again.

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Preining was the first driver from the top 5 to come in for a tire change after eleven laps. A lap later, a curious scene followed: Kelvin van der Linde wanted to turn into the pit stop but was told shortly before to continue driving.

Engstler took advantage of this to overtake the South African on the start-finish straight. Only a lap later did Engstler, van der Linde, and Engel come in together, with no position changes among the three drivers.

Preining, Feller, and Cairoli, who had come in earlier and already brought their tires up to temperature, slid on the track, however. Only Ben Dörr remained completely unaffected at the front: The McLaren driver completed his stop and defended his lead with a large margin.

Thiim takes out Gounon – Dörr loses lead

After the first pit stop, Cairoli, who had started only from 14th place, was the man of the race: The Emil-Frey-Ferrari driver overtook Feller in the fight for third position and then pursued Preining. Engel meanwhile battled in midfield with Wittmann and Vermeulen.

Until the opening of the second pit stop window, the race action remained largely calm: Engel overtook Engstler in the fight for sixth place, while Cairoli was able to get close to Preining’s bumper but could not make a passing move.

Feller was the first driver at the second stop, followed by van der Linde, Engel, and Engstler. The tire changes went largely smoothly, so there were initially no position shifts. Preining came in two laps later, Dörr and Cairoli one lap after that.

In the meantime, there was a collision between Jules Gounon and Nicki Thiim: The Comtoyou-Aston-Martin driver crashed heavily into the side of the “yellow Mamba” of the Frenchman, who had just come out of the pits. Both drivers had to retire their cars, and the safety car had to be deployed.

Maro Engel takes out Kelvin van der Linde

That probably annoyed Dörr the most, who lost his big lead as a result. The race was restarted for the last three laps, but Preining seemed to miss the restart. Cairoli was already alongside on the way to the first corner. However, he could not complete an overtaking maneuver; instead, Feller slipped past.

Behind them, the chaos continued: Maro Engel collided with Kelvin van der Linde’s Schubert-BMW from behind, taking the South African out. The safety car had to be deployed again, but the marshals were quick enough to allow another restart.

Dörr left no doubt about his victory there either: The McLaren junior brought the triumph safely over the finish line, followed by Preining and Feller. It is Dörr’s second win, but the first success he achieved on his own merit. At Lausitzring, the 21-year-old had inherited the win after a penalty against Mapelli.

Thomas Preining extends DTM championship lead

With his second place, Thomas Preining further extends his lead in the overall standings. The Austrian is now twelve points ahead of Engel, provided the AMG driver does not receive a penalty. Wittmann is already 25 points behind in third place and thus has only a small chance at the title.

Looking at the overall standings, it should not be overlooked that Engel currently has the points for the win on his account after the disqualification of Mirko Bortolotti in the second race in Oschersleben. If Grasser’s appeal, which will be heard on September 25, is successful, the AMG driver would lose seven points.

The title fight in the DTM 2026 will in any case only be decided at the season finale in Hockenheim (October 9 to 11): A total of 56 points are still up for grabs on the last weekend of the year, 25 points each for the two race wins on Saturday and Sunday, as well as three points each for pole position.

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