– Porsche dominance at the official DTM test at the Sachsenring: “Grello” driver Thomas Preining, who after the AMG collision is only one point behind DTM leader Maro Engel in the overall standings two weekends before the end, underlined on Sunday with his best time of the day of 1:17.827 that the spectacular MotoGP circuit suits the 911 GT3 R Evo. In second place followed his teammate Ricardo Feller, who was 0.258 seconds slower.
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In third, fourth and fifth place were McLaren driver Ben Dörr (0.466), DTM leader Engel (+0.563) and Aston Martin title contender Nicki Thiim (+0.664). Preining’s best time was almost exactly one second slower than the qualifying lap record of Jordan Pepper (1:16.826) from last year. The focus of attention, however, was the Lamborghini team Grasser – and the comeback of Maximilian Paul.
The Dresden native returned to the cockpit only 50 days after the Norisring horror crash, in which he broke his shin, fibula and a lumbar vertebra. And completed a solid 98 laps! “Internally, we did not expect him to be able to drive more than ten, 15 laps,” team boss Gottfried Grasser said surprised in an interview with Motorsport-Total.com.
Paul partially brakes with his right foot
In the overall standings, Paul finished 17th and second to last – losing 1.608 seconds to the best time. After setting a 1:19.645 in his 70 laps in the morning, the Lamborghini factory driver improved by 0.210 seconds to a 1:19.435 in the afternoon.
In the overall standings, he was 0.691 seconds behind teammate Mirko Bortolotti in ninth place, but the Italian set his personal best time like most in the morning. In the afternoon, Paul’s deficit to Bortolotti was only four tenths. “Max was not far off Mirko in terms of times. He was also in great shape physically – his test was really top-notch,” Grasser concluded. “I am super satisfied.”
The biggest challenge currently is still the left foot, as Paul sometimes needs over 100 kilograms of braking force. Is it true that Paul – as is heard – still brakes with his right foot? “He alternates,” Grasser replied. “I think he brakes with the right in the big braking zones and with the left in the small ones. That is still a process.”
Paul’s race comeback at Sachsenring “99.9 percent certain”
But will the 26-year-old already celebrate his comeback at the upcoming DTM weekend at the Sachsenring, which takes place from September 11 to 13? “In my opinion, that is 99.9 percent certain,” the team boss replied. “In two and a half weeks, the accident will be eight and a half weeks ago – and it has healed well.”
At the GT World Challenge Europe weekend, which takes place in a few days at the Nürburgring, Lamborghini factory driver Sandy Mitchell is still supposed to take his place at Grasser. “There is also the consideration: What happens if a similar accident happens again?” Grasser explained why they are playing it safe.
Why three cars were missing at the DTM test
The test took place without major incidents at temperatures between 10 and 20 degrees and partly in sunshine – and therefore probably provides a good basis for the important qualifying sessions in the morning, as overtaking is difficult at the Sachsenring. The ADAC, which organized the test, set its own test Balance of Performance (BoP), which, however, was not yet worked out in detail.
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Besides that, for cost reasons, gas station fuel was used instead of the fully synthetic fuel prescribed in the DTM, which also affects performance. Despite Paul’s comeback and the fact that the test day – even if not used – expires, only 18 of the 21 cars were in use.
Timo Glock was missing because he was working as an expert for the TV channel Sky at the Formula 1 in Zandvoort, which is why the Dörr team only used one McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. The same applies to the Ford team HRT because Finn Wiebelhaus was competing in the IMSA sports car series in the USA. There, he showed a talent demonstration in the Ford Mustang GT4 in the early phase before his teammate was involved in a crash.
Thiim in Baert’s car thanks to special permission
The Abt team decided to test only with one Lamborghini Temerario GT3, which Luca Engstler and Marco Mapelli shared. At the Aston Martin team Comtoyou, Thiim completed five laps in the car of his teammate Nicolas Baert thanks to an exception rule, who clearly stands in the shadow of the Dane in 2026.
“For us, it was solely about getting a direct comparison of how similar the two cars actually are or where there could be differences,” explained DTM director Mario Schuhbauer about the action.
The Grasser team had applied for a similar exception but did not use it. The regulators are closely watching how teams handle such permissions. Because theoretically, a team could misuse such an opportunity in the title fight by taking one driver out of the traffic, giving the teammate two cars available.
So while he tests with one car, the other vehicle could be prepared, gaining running time. Now the teams have two and a half weeks to incorporate the findings into the setup before the title fight gets serious.
Overall result of the DTM test at the Sachsenring:
1. Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) 1:17.827
2. Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche) +0.258
3. Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren) +0.466
4. Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) +0.563 (NM)
5. Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin) +0.664
6. Jules Gounon (Winward-Mercedes) +0.678
7. Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) +0.803
8. Lucas Auer (Landgraf-Mercedes) +0.814 (NM)
9. Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser-Lamborghini) +0.917
10. Bastian Buus (Land-Porsche) +0.923
11. Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert-BMW) +0.984
12. Matteo Cairoli (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) +1.092
13. Tom Kalender (Landgraf-Mercedes) +1.103
14. Luca Engstler/Marco Mapelli (Abt-Lamborghini) +1.134
15. Thierry Vermeulen (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) +1.206
16. Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford) +1.565
17. Maximilian Paul (Grasser-Lamborghini) +1.608 (NM)
18. Nicolas Baert (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin) +1.814)
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