DTM Race Sachsenring 2: Dörr wins in chaos ahead of Preining, penalty for Engel

– The winner of a completely crazy Sunday race at the Sachsenring (race result) is Ben Dörr. The Dörr-McLaren driver was unstoppable and triumphed despite a crazy tire gamble before the start as well as several accidents and safety car phases that wiped out his comfortable lead shortly before the end.

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Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) finished second and took a step towards winning the title. Because rival Maro Engel, who had started from pole, finished fifth, but the AMG driver received a penalty for hitting the rear of Kelvin van der Linde’s Schubert-BMW shortly before the end and taking him out of the race.

The race stewards handed Engel a 15-second penalty for the collision, which dropped him back to 18th place. The field was tightly packed due to the late safety car phase, making the penalty particularly painful: The Winward driver came away empty-handed on Sunday and is now 23 points behind in the overall standings.

Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche) finished third, followed by Matteo Cairoli, who started from 14th on the grid in the Emil-Frey-Ferrari and made a strong charge on the asphalt. Lucas Auer (Landgraf-Mercedes) inherited fifth place from AMG teammate Engel. Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) finished sixth.

Thierry Vermeulen (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) crossed the finish line seventh, followed by Lucas Engstler in the Abt-Lamborghini. Bastian Buus (Land-Porsche) and Maxmilian Paul (Grasser-Lamborghini) completed the top 10. Guest driver Simon Connor Primm achieved 16th place in the Seyffarth-Audi after a solid performance.

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 now 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 initially chose rain tires. However, the start of the race was delayed by ten minutes due to a dirty track.

The teams thus got another chance to reconsider their decision and now mostly chose slick tires. Only six drivers, namely Buus, Vermeulen, Primm, Glock, Thiim, and Kalender, finally started the race on treaded tires – and were initially spot on with that choice.

Because already during the formation lap, pole sitter Engel slid into the gravel on the wet track. However, the AMG driver was able to free himself and retake his lead position. 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. In the backfield, there were several spins and off-track excursions, including from Auer and guest driver 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 that time, Buus was already more than three seconds ahead at the front, but the competition rapidly closed the gap. At the start of the fifth lap, Dörr, who had also passed pole sitter Engel in the meantime, 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 into striking distance. Both the BMW driver and Preining soon overtook the pole sitter, who had already dropped 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 also 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 as temperatures rose.

Dörr was already putting on a fireworks display at the front and extended his lead over the competition by more than ten seconds within a few laps. 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 one lap later did Engstler, van der Linde, and Engel come in together for their stops, with no position changes among the three drivers.

Preining, Feller, and Cairoli, who had stopped 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 clears out Gounon – Dörr loses lead

After the first pit stop, Cairoli, who had started only from 14th on the grid, was the man of the race: The Emil-Frey-Ferrari driver overtook Feller in the fight for third place and then pursued Preining.

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 attempt an overtaking maneuver.

Feller was the first driver at the second stop, followed by van der Linde, Engel, and Engstler. All stops went largely smoothly, so there were initially no position changes. 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 was 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 have missed 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 hit the rear of Kelvin van der Linde’s Schubert-BMW and took the South African out. The safety car had to be deployed again, but the race officials were quick enough to allow another restart.

Even then, Dörr left no doubt about his victory: The McLaren junior brought the triumph safely across 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 significantly extends his lead in the overall standings. The Austrian is now 23 points ahead of Engel. Wittmann is in third place, 24 points behind. Auer, in fourth place, is already 45 points behind and is considered an outsider.

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 another seven points.

The title fight in the DTM 2026 will still be decided at the season finale in Hockenheim (October 9 to 11): There are still 56 points to be won in the last weekend of the year, 25 points each for the two race wins and three points each for pole position.

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