Klaus Weber · DTM Correspondent
Mirko Bortolotti won Race 2 of the DTM in Oschersleben with a margin of 3.027 seconds over Maro Engel, after finishing only fifth in Race 1, while Thomas Preining departed Saxony-Anhalt with the better overall record despite finishing third on Sunday.
The DTM held the second race of the weekend on Sunday at the 3.696-kilometer-long Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. Mirko Bortolotti prevailed in the GRT Grasser Racing Team after 39 laps with a margin of 3.027 seconds over Maro Engel (Winward Racing), with Thomas Preining (Manthey EMA) completing the podium in third. Preining had won Race 1, but for Bortolotti, Sunday meant a complete turnaround: after fifth place on Saturday, he achieved victory 24 hours later.
Tight field at the top
On Sunday, the first four positions were separated by less than four seconds: Preining was 3.431 seconds behind, Marco Wittmann (Schubert Motorsport) as fourth 3.640 seconds. Wittmann’s result carries more weight than the mere placement suggests; he had been left without points after a retirement in Race 1 and drove himself directly back into contention on Sunday. Only after that did the gap open up: Luca Engstler (Abt Sportsline), still second on Saturday, finished fifth on Sunday with a deficit of 5.467 seconds. Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport) finished both races exactly in seventh place, a rare testament to the consistency with which Schubert Motorsport made it through the weekend.
Losers in the midfield, two retirements
Not everyone confirmed their Saturday form. Lucas Auer, still fourth in Race 1, could not get beyond twelfth place on Sunday. Timo Glock (Dörr Motorsport) fell from eighth to seventeenth place. Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou Racing) secured the fastest lap from thirteenth position, outside the points, a pace that came at the wrong point in the race. Nicolas Baert (Comtoyou Racing) fell ten laps down after 29 of 39 laps and was not classified, while Finn Wiebelhaus (HRT Ford Performance) had to retire from the race after just nine laps, marking his second zero-point result of the weekend following Saturday’s retirement.
Weekend tally favors Preining
In the combined total of both races, Preining leads with 40 points (25 from Race 1, 15 from Race 2) ahead of Bortolotti with 35 and Engel with 33. Preining’s weekend shows that consistency across two races can be worth more than a single victory: one win and one podium finish were enough for him to leave Oschersleben as the weekend’s best driver despite losing Sunday’s race. The DTM heads next to the Nürburgring on August 15, where it will become clear whether Bortolotti can carry his Sunday momentum or whether Preining’s consistency will prove decisive again.
