DTM: Porsche factory driver Thomas Preining celebrates his second win of the season

Just as at the DTM season opener in Spielberg, Thomas Preining also kicked off the second half of the season with a victory. The Porsche factory driver took first place for the tenth time in his DTM career on Saturday at Oschersleben. This was the Austrian’s second DTM victory of the current season.

The two qualifying sessions demonstrated just how competitive the Porsche is at Oschersleben: the number 91 car from the Porsche customer team Manthey set the fastest time on both occasions. For Preining, these were his fifth and sixth pole positions in the DTM. On Saturday, the 28-year-old managed to fend off all attacks from his rivals at the start. In the opening laps, he built up a lead of up to 2.5 seconds. During the sole pit stop shortly after the halfway point of the race, the Manthey crew worked faster than the chasing pack. The former Porsche Junior then brought his 911 GT3 R home in first place.

Preining’s Manthey team-mate Ricardo Feller had started Saturday’s race from eleventh on the grid. The 26-year-old Swiss driver remained stuck in the midfield and finished in tenth place. DTM rookie Bastian Buus ended the first of two races at Oschersleben in 14th place. The former Porsche Junior from Denmark underlined his talent by setting the fastest lap of the race.

Customer team Manthey narrowly misses out on victory in Sunday’s race

Following his victory the previous day, the ‘Grello’ Porsche had to carry 20 kilograms of success ballast. Nevertheless, Preining secured pole position in the second qualifying session as well. At the start, the 2023 DTM champion drew on his experience: in the first corner, he fended off an attack from Luca Engstler and retained the lead. Even after the first mandatory pit stop, the Manthey driver remained in front. However, a problem with the left-rear tyre arose during the second tyre change. This cost Preining crucial seconds and two positions. Finishing third, the works driver was delighted with his 14th podium finish in the DTM. Feller managed to move up from ninth on the grid to eighth place. The 23-year-old Buus, starting from 13th, was classified in eleventh place.

“From pole position to first place: following the lean spell in the previous DTM races, we’re delighted with our second win of the season,” said Maximilian Müller, GT Race Support at Porsche Motorsport. “Thomas Preining is well suited to the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, and Manthey has set up the 911 GT3 R perfectly. Thommy was also firmly in the lead in the second race. With third place, he secured some vital points. Ricardo Feller and Bastian Buus put in solid performances in the midfield. It was Buus’s first time racing a GT3 car at Oschersleben. By setting the fastest lap of the race in the first race, he showed just how quickly he’s learning.”

Driver quotes after the weekend

Thomas Preining (Porsche 911 GT3 R #91): “Winning my home race means a great deal to me. It’s something I’ll always remember. Sunday proved to be a difficult day for us. Out in the midfield, we weren’t able to make the most of our Porsche 911 GT3 R’s strengths as effectively as we would have been if we’d been leading the race on our own.”

Ricardo Feller (Porsche 911 GT3 R #90): “Unfortunately, I made a mistake in the first race. I’m very pleased with the comeback after the penalty lap. Qualifying on Sunday didn’t go at all as we’d expected. On a track like Spielberg, overtaking is difficult for us, so we didn’t manage to move up as far as we’d hoped.”

Bastian Buus (Porsche 911 GT3 R #29): “We got almost the maximum out of our overall package on both days. If we take the frustrating penalty from Saturday’s race out of the equation, we can be very proud of what we achieved with our new race car this weekend.”

Further information

Full results and standings: DTM website
Calendar: 2026 DTM race calendar
Reference guide: DTM Media Guide 2026
Background: DTM season preview 2026
The Porsche 911 GT3 R The GT3 racing car in detail