Klaus Weber · DTM-Korrespondent
After a subdued opening session, Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller showed what the two Manthey drivers are capable of in the second free practice, significantly shaking up the field order.
Thomas Preining set the fastest time of the second practice session with a 1:25.517, just 0.249 seconds ahead of teammate Ricardo Feller (1:25.766). Manthey EMA claimed both top times and improved dramatically from Practice 1, where Preining had been 14th and Feller 15th, each jumping up more than ten positions. The quickest lap of the session was also 0.627 seconds faster than Practice 1's best time, indicating improved pace across the entire field.
Manthey EMA Turns It Around
Preining and Feller's jump is the session's most striking development. In Practice 1, both cars were over half a second off the pace; in Practice 2, they dominated the field. Preining's improvement from 1:26.665 to 1:25.517 represents a 1.148-second gain within a single session, far more than can be explained by rising track temperature and additional rubber laid down.
Kelvin van der Linde (1:25.834) and Marco Wittmann (1:26.019) kept pace with Schubert Motorsport, securing third and fourth positions after occupying fifth and fourth in Practice 1. Schubert's consistency across both sessions contrasts sharply with the volatility at the top, where Manthey EMA essentially reshuffled the entire order.
Cairoli and Auer Lose Ground
Drivers who led Practice 1 struggled in Practice 2. Matteo Cairoli, who was fastest in the opening session with 1:26.144, slipped to 12th in the second run (1:26.338), losing nearly two tenths compared to his own best time while the rest of the field made significant gains. Lucas Auer, second in Practice 1, managed only tenth place in Practice 2.
Both cases highlight just how tight this DTM season is: a lap time that would have earned pole position in the morning proved good enough for only mid-pack top-15 status that afternoon. The gap between first and last narrowed from 1.394 seconds in Practice 1 to 1.296 seconds in Practice 2, suggesting the Balance of Performance continues to tighten across the day.
Dörr Motorsport Shakes Up the Midfield
The most impressive midfield progression came from Ben Dörr. Starting Practice 1 in 18th place with a 1:26.962, he surged to seventh in Practice 2 (1:26.119), a gain of 0.843 seconds. This left him just 0.602 seconds behind Preining's best time, a margin that would have separated the entire midfield from the front two sessions earlier.
Teammate Timo Glock made little progress, remaining essentially where he started with 18th place in Practice 2. For Dörr Motorsport, that's a mixed picture: one car running in the competitive front-middle, the other still in the back third. Before Race 1, it remains to be seen whether Preining and Feller's pace holds up in race trim or whether drivers like van der Linde and Wittmann, more consistent across both practices, bring a more reliable foundation to Sunday.
