DTM race Oschersleben 2: Bortolotti snatches victory after Manthey faux pas
· Yahoo Sports
Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser-Lamborghini) wins the second DTM race in Oschersleben: The Italian initially worked his way up to second place thanks to an overcut at the first pit stop and then benefited from a botched tire change for Manthey-Porsche driver Thomas Preining, who had been in full control of the race up to that point.
"Yes, unfortunately awesome. Incredible. I have to say, I can't believe it," Bortolotti cheers on ProSieben and recalls: "We all know how difficult the year is for us. Basically, it's been a difficult year and a half for me. It feels extremely good to be back right at the top, here in the DTM."
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It is the fifth DTM victory for the Lamborghini driver, but his first win since October 2024, when he triumphed in Spielberg. "That's why I'm happy to be back on the very top step of the podium. It feels mega good. And the race was simply a masterclass from start to finish. Nobody gave us anything, but that's not what we want either, and we're not used to it. That's why it just feels so good."
Wittmann misses podium at Schubert's home race
Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) takes on Sunday second position, followed by unlucky Preining, who still had to defend against Marco Wittmann's Schubert-BMW in the closing stages. The driver from Fürth had the fresher tires after his retirement the previous day, but could not find a way past the Manthey-Porsche.
"Of course we had hoped for a bit more from this race, especially since we had a clear tire advantage, but as you can see, we couldn't make use of that either," Wittmann, who had been battling a gastrointestinal infection, is visibly disappointed on ProSieben. "My goal was at least a home podium for Team Schubert."
"Nevertheless, I think if you look at the circumstances, it was one of, if not the most difficult and physical race weekend I've had. P4 is a good result, but of course, when you're right there, you naturally want to fight for the podium, but I think we simply didn't have the pace for that today."
Lucas Engstler (Abt-Lamborghini) finishes fifth, followed by Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford) and Kelvin van der Linde in the Schubert-BMW. Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche), Jules Gounon (Winward-Mercedes) and Matteo Cairolo (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) complete the top 10.
Engstler attacks Preining at the start, but ...
As on the previous day, polesitter Preining initially converted his pole position into the lead. Engstler briefly swept past in the first corner, but then drifted slightly off the racing line. That allowed the Manthey-Porsche driver to counter again on the inside and reclaim the lead.
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Engstler defended second place against Arjun Maini, who had moved past Marco Wittmann at the start. Behind the Schubert-BMW driver, teammate Kelvin van der Linde, Bortolotti and Engel initially lined up after the opening phase.
By the time the first pit stop window opened, Preining – who, following his victory the previous day, had to race with 20 kilograms of success ballast – had already built up a lead of just over a second, although Engstler was at times able to set the fastest lap of the
race and reduce the gap.
Nicki Thiim was the first driver to head in for his first pit stop. After a tire mistake in qualifying, the Comtoyou driver had to start the race almost from the back of the field and therefore opted for an alternative strategy. The drivers from the leading group, by contrast, stayed out significantly longer before coming in for their first tire change.
Bortolotti benefits from a late pit stop
Kelvin van der Linde was the first driver from the top 6 in the pits, followed by Maini and Wittmann, who stopped one lap later. However, the hoped-for undercut against the leaders did not materialize, as Preining defended his lead despite his later tire change.
Engel and Bortolotti also benefited from their late stop and moved into the top 3, while Engstler dropped back to fourth place. During the Abt driver's pit stop, things also did not go entirely according to plan because of a problem with the left wheel gun.
On track, the action remained manageable, as it had on Saturday. Although there were some position battles within the top 10 up to the second pit-stop window, especially between Maini and Wittmann for fifth place, decisive overtaking moves failed to materialize.
Even a light rain shower that passed over the track around the halfway point of the race brought no changes. At the front, however, Bortolotti managed at times to reduce the gap to leader Preining to less than one second.
Preining loses victory at the second pit stop
The second pit stop finally provided the decisive turning point. The top 4 came in together for the final tire change, but Preining's stop went completely wrong because there was a problem at the left rear. The Manthey-Porsche driver lost valuable time in the pits and, as a result, dropped back to third place.
Bortolotti took the lead ahead of Maro Engel. That decided Preining's fight for victory; instead, the Porsche driver had to defend against Wittmann in the closing stages. With third place, the 2023 DTM champion at least managed some damage limitation in the end.
Maro Engel further extends his lead in the overall DTM standings with second place. The AMG driver (145 points) remains ahead of Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin, 124 points) and brand colleague Lucas Auer (123 points), who finishes only twelfth in the Landgraf-Mercedes. Thomas Preining (117 points) currently occupies fourth place.
"I'm absolutely delighted," overall leader Engel admits on ProSieben. "It was a super strong weekend. But as we've said so often, nobody can win the championship today or at the Nürburgring. So keep our feet on the ground, keep working. We're absolutely delighted with the weekend."
The next two races of the 2026 DTM season (here is the full race calendar!) will take place in three weeks (August 14 to 16) at the Nürburgring. Last year, the two former DTM drivers Jack Aitken (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) on Saturday and Rene Rast (Schubert-BMW) on Sunday celebrated race victories there.
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