Klaus Weber · DTM-Korrespondent
With a third and second place at the Sachsenring, Thomas Preining heads into the season finale at Hockenheimring with a 23-point advantage over closest rival Maro Engel, positioning himself as the favorite for the deciding weekend of the season.
Thomas Preining leads the DTM standings heading into the season finale at Hockenheimring on October 10th with 197 to 174 points ahead of Maro Engel (Winward Racing). Marco Wittmann (Schubert Motorsport) sits third with 173 points, one further point back. The Porsche driver from Manthey EMA laid the groundwork for his current advantage at the Sachsenring, where he delivered the most consistent weekend of the three title contenders with a third place in race one and a second place in race two. Engel, by contrast, lost ground in the second race after receiving a post-race 15-second time penalty for a collision with Kelvin van der Linde, dropping from fifth and scoring no points, which further increased his deficit. Should Preining prevail in Hockenheim, it would be his second DTM title: in 2023, Preining had already claimed the crown with Manthey EMA, becoming the first Porsche driver and first Austrian in the series' history.
Sachsenring: Consistency Over Dramatics
In the first race, Marco Wittmann converted his pole position practically point-for-point, winning by 0.450 seconds over Jules Gounon, with Preining completing the podium in third, 3.684 seconds behind. In the second race, the picture flipped: Ben Dörr took victory from fourth on the grid, 1.219 seconds ahead of Preining, who worked his way from sixth on the grid up to second place. Two podium finishes in one weekend means more for the championship in a field with rotating race-trim winners than a single victory paired with a weaker result in the other race, as it spreads the risk of a retirement across both races.
Maro Engel, Preining's closest rival in the standings, secured pole in the second qualifying session and initially ran fifth in the race, but the race stewards handed him a post-race 15-second time penalty for contact with Kelvin van der Linde at turn one. The result: Engel dropped out of the points, while the entire field behind him moved up one position. It's precisely in these post-race stewarding decisions, not just in direct on-track comparison, where championship points at the top of the standings shift. Preining also holds the Sachsenring track record with a 1:17.199 set in 2024, further evidence that the circuit traditionally suits him well.
Four Years of Continuity at Manthey EMA
Preining is now in his fourth consecutive season with Manthey EMA in the DTM. Since 2023, he has scored points without interruption, a streak that is far from guaranteed in a championship with tight field strength and changing balance-of-performance adjustments. Such consistency typically doesn't arise from isolated highlights, but from a team that makes setup decisions reliably across an entire season and quickly compensates for setbacks in the regulations.
For a customer team like Manthey EMA, this reliability is the real foundation for championship aspirations. While factory teams can often react quickly to technical changes, a customer team must draw its strength from preparation and from the coordination between driver and engineers. The fact that Preining and his team have pursued this path consistently over four years explains a good portion of the current points lead.
Not His First Title, But a Chance to Confirm
A title win would not be Preining's first championship but already his second in the DTM. Back in 2023, he had already claimed the crown with Manthey EMA as the first Porsche driver and first Austrian in DTM history. Another title in Hockenheim would confirm that historic 2023 success and solidify Preining's status as one of the most successful drivers of the current GT3 era in the DTM.
Twenty-three points heading into the final weekend of the season is a comfortable but not insurmountable margin, especially as Hockenheim offers two races and thus double the opportunity for points shifts. Engel must hope for either a Preining retirement or a weak weekend from the championship leader while scoring well himself, and for Wittmann with 24 points back, both drivers ahead of him would mathematically need to falter. How the balance of power from recent weeks translates to Hockenheim will only become clear in direct competition on track.
