Klaus Weber · DTM Correspondent
In the second free practice session for the DTM season finale at Hockenheim, Thomas Preining set the fastest time again, while championship rival Marco Wittmann dropped significantly down the order.
Thomas Preining claimed the top spot in second free practice for the DTM season finale at Hockenheim on Friday afternoon. The Manthey-EMA driver posted a best lap of 1:47.823, leading Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport) by 0.092 seconds and reinforcing the form he showed in the opening session, where he had finished ahead of Jules Gounon by just 0.050 seconds. On a wet track, the field was roughly eleven seconds slower than in the morning session, yet at the front nothing changed for the championship leader.
Van der Linde and Engstler make significant strides
While Preining held his ground, two drivers showed substantial improvement from the first session. Kelvin van der Linde climbed from ninth to second, and Luca Engstler (Abt Sportsline) jumped from eighth to third. Both were now closer to Preining than they had been in the opening run, trailing by 0.092 and 0.311 seconds respectively compared to gaps of 0.464 and 0.431 seconds earlier.
Mirko Bortolotti remained relatively steady in fourth, while his GRT Lamborghini teammate Maximilian Paul produced the most impressive gain in the upper field, jumping from 13th in Practice 1 to fifth in Practice 2. With both Lamborghinis sitting in the top five on a wet surface, that could prove significant if Saturday brings a rain-soaked qualifying session.
Wittmann and Wiebelhaus lose ground
Marco Wittmann told a very different story. After securing third in the opening session, the Schubert driver slipped to 15th in Practice 2, 1.328 seconds down on Preining. Finn Wiebelhaus (HRT Ford Racing) fared even worse, dropping from fourth to 19th.
Whether Wittmann's rain-session performance reflects genuine pace struggles or simply setup work remains to be seen in qualifying. With six drivers retaining mathematical title hopes, he sits 24 points behind Preining in the standings, just one point behind Maro Engel, who managed eighth place in Practice 2 and stayed well clear of his BMW rival. A weak qualifying would make Wittmann's already precarious situation heading into the final weekend considerably tighter.
Preining keeps his sights on the points tally
What matters in the end isn't practice pace but what the drivers extract from it over the weekend. Preining leads the championship with 197 points, followed by Engel and Wittmann 23 and 24 points back respectively, with Lucas Auer, Matteo Cairoli, and Nicki Thiim still mathematically in contention for the title. Preining needs 34 points from qualifying and races this weekend to clinch the championship regardless of what his rivals achieve.
Auer finished ninth in Practice 2, Cairoli tenth, and Thiim 16th, three drivers scattered through the field without clearly staking a claim for the weekend ahead. What matters now is who carries this pace into Saturday morning's Qualifying 1, which starts at 09:35 before the opening race at 13:30. The starting grid will determine how much risk the title contenders must take in both races.
