DTM Red Bull Ring: Preining beats Engel to win opener

Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining won the DTM season opener at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

The Austrian, who started from third on the grid,  benefited from a botched pitstop by polesitter Maro Engel in the Winward Mercedes to take the spot.

Engel came into to stop two laps into the pit window, but the pitstop was delayed as the left-rear wheel could not be attached, and the polesitter consequently lost his lead to Preining.

Lucas Auer's pitstop, which followed two laps after Engel's, was also delayed, so the Austrian initially fell back to third place behind Preining and Jules Gounon (Winward Mercedes) and then he had to defend himself against Engel's attacks.

Landgraf driver and local hero Lucas Auer fought back either side of a safety car period to finish second, while Engel came home in third to complete an all-Mercedes podium. DTM rookie Bastian Buus (Land Porsche) took a strong fourth place in his debut, followed by Tom Kalender (Landgraf Mercedes) and Schubert BMW driver Marco Wittmann.

Race Start

Photo by: ADAC Motorsport

Timo Glock finished in seventh position with his Dorr-McLaren, but still has reason to worry. The German had to complete a penalty lap in the second half of the race after his tyres spun during the pitstop while the McLaren driver was still jacked up.

According to the race stewards' initial impression, the penalty lap was not executed correctly, which is why the Dorr driver may face a further sanction after the race. Arjun Maini (HRT Ford), Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey Ferrari) and Riccardo Feller (Manthey Porsche) complete the top 10.

DTM Red Bull Ring - Race 1 results: