– Was the home victory at the season opener in Spielberg the last DTM win for Thomas Preining with “Grello” championship race engineer Kai Störling? According to information from Motorsport-Total.com, the man who already led Preining to the championship title in 2023 and has since worked with the Porsche factory driver will leave the Porsche top team from Meuspath at the Nürburgring at the end of May (updated team database for the DTM season 2026 with the most important positions).
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Accordingly, the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, in which Preining will again be in the “Grello,” would still fall within his responsibilities, and the DTM weekend in Zandvoort from May 22 to 24 will be his last Manthey appearance. How intensive the exchange with Störling is was revealed by Preining after his DTM title.
He said he talks “every day” with his race engineer. “At Christmas, at New Year’s Eve – and at the beginning of January we were on vacation together. We are in constant exchange,” explained the 27-year-old at the time.
Preining about race engineer: “It’s like a married couple”
Mostly, the focus is on the technology: “During the season, we sometimes exchange several times a day, develop ideas, and keep each other up to date – in winter, it’s sometimes like this, sometimes like that. We spend so much time together and communicate so much – it’s like a married couple.”
A good relationship with the race engineer is “extremely important because then you understand each other blindly. If he knows exactly what I need from the car, and I know exactly how he sets up the car, what his idea is, and what I have to do with it, then it makes the whole process easier, and many things go much faster.”
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Even after the DTM title, Preining was always one of the strongest DTM drivers together with Störling, even though the title defense year brought only one win. In 2025, the two fought together for the title until the end, and in 2026 the duo started the season perfectly with the opening win in Spielberg.
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“He doesn’t do anything stupid – that’s the most important thing”
The collaboration with Störling is a cornerstone of success. “It definitely is based on our mutual trust – and that you blindly hand over the reins to the other and know: He doesn’t do anything stupid! That’s the most important thing,” said Preining after his DTM title.
The Austrian also gave an example at the time. “I am a driver who likes to be there early, but in the evening I make sure to have a moment alone in the hotel so I can unwind a bit and sort my thoughts. Therefore, I don’t like to stay at the track forever.”
If the work at the racetrack and the search for the optimal setup become “too time-consuming,” “it has happened more than once that I said: Guys, do what you want, I trust you. And then we stand on pole tomorrow.”
Successor solution for Preining’s race engineer unclear
Who will replace Störling, who according to information from Motorsport-Total.com is moving from the Eifel to Munich, during the season is unclear: However, the Manthey team is so well positioned that it will certainly find a suitable replacement.
Nevertheless, it is not ideal to change the race engineer during the season, as the collaboration with the man on the radio, who is the only connection between driver and team during the race, must be re-established. A win in Zandvoort would now be a crowning conclusion to the successful collaboration between Preining and Störling.
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