Klaus Weber · DTM Correspondent
A second-lap accident cost pole-sitter Luca Engstler the race. Lucas Auer triumphed after Maro Engel lost the lead during his pit stop.
Lucas Auer claimed victory in the first of two races at the DTM season finale at Hockenheimring on Saturday. The Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf driver started from second position and completed 36 laps in 1:14:52.316 hours, finishing 4.777 seconds ahead of Mirko Bortolotti (GRT Grasser Racing Team). The spotlight initially fell on a second-lap accident that took pole-sitter Luca Engstler out of contention and triggered a red flag. However, the battle for the lead was ultimately decided at Maro Engel's pit stop.
Engstler's pole-position run ends with contact from Auer
Engstler had secured his first DTM pole position in qualifying under changing conditions with a time of 1:47.048 minutes, 0.407 seconds ahead of Auer. In the second lap, Auer attacked at the hairpin, sending both drivers side by side with multiple touches before the Mercedes grandstand. On the final contact, Engstler lost control of his Abt Sportsline Lamborghini and hit the concrete wall backward. He exited the car under his own power and remained uninjured following an examination at the medical center.
The barrier damage was significant enough that race control displayed the red flag to allow repairs. Engstler's Lamborghini Temerario GT3 was no longer operational after the impact, and he retired after just one complete lap. At the restart behind the safety car, Auer initially led but allowed his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Engel past before the Mercedes grandstand shortly after. Engel held the lead until his mandatory pit stop, where his right rear wheel became stuck, costing him over 16 seconds. Auer regained the lead and held it through to the finish.
Behind them, qualifying third-place finisher and championship leader Thomas Preining created his own setback: as the field entered the Parabolika at the start, his Manthey Porsche ran onto the grass and fell back to 13th by the hairpin. He recovered to fifth place with a gap of 17.057 seconds. He retained the championship lead but lost ground to his direct rivals.
Bortolotti advances to second, penalties shape the midfield
While the crash dominated the top, the midfield told a compelling story. Bortolotti qualified only sixth but drove his way to second place in the race. He remains without a validated season victory after losing his Oschersleben win due to non-homologated wheel bearings. Marco Wittmann completed the podium in the Schubert BMW with a gap of 8.157 seconds, but only after race control intervention: Engel had overtaken him shortly before the end near the Mercedes grandstand and forced him off track, prompting officials to order a position swap. This left Engel fourth in the Winward Mercedes-AMG, 8.524 seconds clear of Preining in fifth place.
Ricardo Feller's race proved considerably more difficult, according to motorsport-total.com. After a collision with Thierry Vermeulen before the second turn, he lost his Manthey Porsche's front bumper and was given three penalty laps, which he had to serve in the designated zone. He crossed the line without points in 16th place, more than 45 seconds behind Auer. Vermeulen and Tom Kalender also suffered setbacks, both spinning at the hairpin and losing positions; Vermeulen finished 13th, Kalender 15th.
As motorsport-magazin.com reported, Timo Glock retired on lap 17 after colliding with Jules Gounon shortly following his mandatory pit stop. The damage to the Dörr Motorsport McLaren was too extensive to continue. Gounon still finished seventh and into the points. Race control reviewed the incident after the race.
Tight title fight heading into Sunday's finale
The result tightens the championship battle at the top. Preining leads the drivers' standings with 209 points, 20 ahead of Wittmann and 22 clear of Engel. His buffer is smaller than before the race because Engel crossed the line just ahead of him in fourth and Wittmann made up five points with third place. Preining thus missed out on clinching the title on Saturday. In the finale, there are still 28 points available, and he needs only a finish among the top seven to secure the championship.
The finale begins on Sunday with qualifying at 9:30 a.m., with the race starting at 4:30 p.m. due to the subsequent championship ceremony. It remains unclear whether Engstler can return to fight for front-running positions in a repaired or replacement car after his impact.
