On the fourth race weekend of the season, DTM rookie Laurin Heinrich made his first ascent to the podium. The Team 75 Motorsport driver secured second place in the wet race on Sunday while operating his Porsche 911 GT3 R around the Nürburgring sprint circuit. His Porsche coworker, Thomas Preining, finished third on Saturday, earning him a podium position as well. Porsche increased their lead in the manufacturers' classification after eight of the 16 races, which attracted close to 50,000 spectators. In the drivers' classification, Thomas Preining is ranked first, and Manthey EMA is in first place in the team classification.
Laurin Heinrich moved up the field from position eleven on the grid to second place on Sunday despite the wet circumstances. This was the 21-year-old Team75 Motorsport driver's best finish to date and the first podium finish of his nascent DTM career. "I am ecstatic with Laurin's improved fortune. Timo Bernhard, owner of Team75 Motorsport and brand ambassador for Porsche, praised the former Porsche Junior for his performance in the extremely challenging race today. "Laurin executed our plan flawlessly and deserves this success," I said.
Project Manager for the 911 GT3 R, Sebastian Golz, said, "From Porsche's perspective, it was a really successful weekend here at the Nürburgring. We were able to increase our lead in all three championship categories. I'm really happy to see how well-adjusted our young drivers are. Take Laurin Heinrich's podium finish in these exceedingly challenging weather circumstances as an example. Tim Heinemann's effort on Sunday, particularly in the early half of the race, deserves commendation as well.
Sebastian Golz (r) with Timo Bernhard
Thomas Preining had a productive weekend in the German Eifel region in terms of his title aspirations. The Austrian started Sunday's race in 16th place due to horrible luck in qualifying, but he still managed to finish fifth, increasing his championship lead. Dennis Olson's participation in the second Nürburgring race was cut short due to a collision on the opening lap.
In the first stages of the race on Sunday, Tim Heinemann moved up to second place. The 25-year-old driver from the Toksport WRT team was unable to exactly maintain his initial pace during his required pit stop, and he finished the race in twelveth place.
Thomas Preining
Typical Eifel weather made for changeable conditions on Saturday
Dennis Olsen finished in fifth place on Saturday, while Thomas Preining ascended the podium in third. Rain showers made the going challenging after starting in the clear, but the two Manthey EMA drivers remained unfazed. Tim Heinemann finished in 14th place, earning him his first points since the season opener in Oschersleben, where he finished second in both races. Laurin Heinrich (Team 75 Motorsport) came in 19th place and didn't score. Saturday's race was cut short for Christian Engelhart (Toksport WRT) and Ayhancan Güven (Team75 Motorsport) when Engelhart's vehicle collided with Güven's vehicle while braking for the opening corner. Both drivers were OK; however, Sunday's competition was canceled due to damage to their race cars.
Comments on the Nürburgring race weekend
Laurin Heinrich (Team75 Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R #75): “I'm over the moon about my first podium result on just the fourth DTM race weekend of my career. The paradox is that after a full course yellow cost me a good result during the pit stop window on Saturday, I was able to benefit from exactly the same situation today – so justice was done. Because we could only field one car today, my result today is a small compensation for the team.”
Thomas Preining (Manthey EMA, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91): “That was a great weekend for us, despite not being able to bring home the much-hoped-for win at our home race. A podium is always nice, but the champagne shower wasn’t quite as much fun as usual in the cool temperatures. On Sunday morning, I struck a bit of bad luck with slower traffic in qualifying, so I was only able to start from 16th. We also sustained slight damage after a collision at the start. But thanks to our excellent teamwork, I moved up to fifth place and scored more important points.”
Tim Heinemann (Toksport WRT, Porsche 911 GT3 R #9):“After a great qualifying and an even better start, twelfth place is of course a bit sobering – we had good chances of a podium result. Towards the end of the race, however, I didn’t manage to match the pace of the others and pretty much had no chance. All in all, we’re satisfied with this weekend: we made the most of our opportunities on both days. After two DTM weekends without a championship point, we finished in the points twice, which is a small success. Now we have to keep it up so that we can race among the frontrunners again in the next races at the Lausitzring.”
Results
Result race 7: 1. Mirko Bortolotti (I), Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2 #92, 39 laps 2. Lucas Auer (A), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #22, +1.199 seconds 3. Thomas Preining (A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, +2.572 seconds 5. Dennis Olsen (N), Porsche 911 GT3 R #90, +4.327 seconds 14. Tim Heinemann (D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #9, +17.531 seconds 19. Laurin Heinrich (D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #75, +20.504 seconds DNF Ayhancan Güven (TR), Porsche 911 GT3 R #24, +21 laps DNF Christian Engelhart (D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #99, +21 laps
Result race 8: 1. Maximilian Paul (D), Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO 2 #19, 35 laps 2. Laurin Heinrich (D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #75, +0.600 seconds 3. Lucas Auer (A), Mercedes-AMG GT3 #22, +1.320 seconds 5. Thomas Preining (A), Porsche 911 GT3 R #91, +3.248 seconds 12. Tim Heinemann (D), Porsche 911 GT3 R #9, +10.327 seconds DNF Dennis Olsen (N), Porsche 911 GT3 R #90, +33 laps
Drivers’ standings after 8 of 16 races: 1. Thomas Preining (A/Manthey EMA/Porsche), 117 points 2. Sheldon van der Linde (RSA/Schubert Motorsport/BMW), 89 points 3. Mirko Bortolotti (I/SSR Performance/Lamborghini), 88 points 8. Dennis Olsen (N/Manthey EMA/Porsche), 63 points 10. Laurin Heinrich (D/Team75 Motorsport/Porsche), 51 points 11. Tim Heinemann (D/Toksport WRT/Porsche), 48 points 14. Christian Engelhart (D/Toksport WRT/Porsche), 36 points 15. Ayhancan Güven (TR/ Team75 Motorsport/Porsche), 32 points
Team standings after 8 of 16 races: 1. Manthey EMA (Porsche), 169 points 2. SSR Performance (Lamborghini), 147 points 3. Schubert Motorsport (BMW), 139 points 6. Toksport WRT (Porsche), 82 points 7. Team75 Motorsport (Porsche), 82 points
Manufacturer standings after 8 of 16 races: 1. Porsche, 238 points 2. Lamborghini, 203 points 3. Mercedes-AMG, 188 points 4. BMW, 187 points 5. Audi, 156 points 6. Ferrari, 83 points