DTM Sachsenring: Mercedes driver Stolz scores first win of 2023

HRT driver Stolz enjoyed a perfect rolling start from pole position, as his rivals tiptoed through the tight, technical opening sequence of corners.

A brief safety car intervention to clear debris destroyed the clear lead Stolz had already built up, but the German simply pulled away again.

He then pitted at the first opportunity when the window opened, despite this meaning a long second stint that would ask much of his Pirellis on a scorching hot day, but it ensured Stolz track position over Thomas Preining's Porsche.

Stolz then managed a comfortable 2.688s lead to the end and claimed his second career DTM win, his first since the Nurburgring last season.

Preining had run third behind fellow 911 driver Ayhancan Guven before the pitstops, but pitting one lap earlier and good work from his Manthey EMA crew vaulted him past the Turkish driver's Team Bernhard example and into a runner-up position he held to the end.

Guven kept Preining within sight to score his first DTM podium, ahead of the battling ABT Audis of Ricardo Feller and Kelvin van der Linde.

Defending DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde brought his Schubert BMW home sixth ahead of Dennis Olsen in the second Manthey EMA Porsche, with Rene Rast (Schubert BMW) right on their tail.

Pre-event points leader Mirko Bortolotti had a disappointing race at the twisty Sachsenring and lost the lead of the championship to Preining as a result.

The SSR Performance Lamborghini driver ran fourth before the pitstops, but then it all unravelled. His troubles began with an ABS problem that led to the rear wheels spinning while the car was jacked up during his pit visit.

Officials took a dim view and Bortolotti was immediately issued a slow-lap penalty. On top of all that, Bortolotti had to contend with flat spots on his front tyres after a big lock-up exiting the pits.

Bortolotti had to settle for ninth place and will go into Sunday’s second race with a six-point deficit to Preining.

DTM Sachsenring Race 1 Results (45 laps):

Driver Info

Cla	Driver	#	Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points
1	L. Stolz Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	4	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	-			25
2	T. Preining Manthey EMA	91	Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+2.688	2.688		20
3	A. Güven KÜS Team Bernhard	24	Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.942			16
4	R. Feller Abt Sportsline	7	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	45	+6.968	6.026		13
5	K. van der Linde Abt Sportsline	3	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	45	+0.269			11
6	S. Van Der Linde Schubert Motorsport	1	BMW M4 GT3	45	+5.457	5.188		10
7	D. Olsen Manthey EMA	90	Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.355			9
8	R. Rast Schubert Motorsport	33	BMW M4 GT3	45	+0.788	0.433		8
9	M. Bortolotti SSR Performance	92	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	45	+7.735	6.947		7
10	T. Vermeulen Emil Frey Racing	69	Ferrari 296 GT3	45	+2.422			6
11	F. Perera SSR Performance	94	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	45	+0.461			5
12	L. Heinrich KÜS Team Bernhard	75	Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+1.464	1.003		4
13	A. Maini Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	36	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	+0.591			3
14	J. Owega Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf	84	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	+5.393	4.802		2
15	M. Dienst Toksport WRT	99	Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.493			1
16	T. Heinemann Toksport WRT	9	Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.614	0.121
17	D. Schumacher Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	27	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	+7.005	6.391
18	M. Wittmann Project 1 Motorsport	11	BMW M4 GT3	45	+0.690
19	L. Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler	8	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	45	+7.615	6.925
20	S. Holzem Project 1 Motorsport	56	BMW M4 GT3	45	+5.145
21	A. Deledda SSR Performance	6	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	45	+7.939	2.794
22	P. Niederhauser Tresor Orange1	83	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	36	9 laps
23	L. Auer Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	22	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	35	1 lap
24	C. Schmid GRT Grasser Racing Team	63	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	27	8 laps
25	M. Engel Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf	48	Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	23	4 laps
26	M. Drudi Tresor Orange1	40	Audi R8 LMS Evo II	18	5 laps
27	J. Aitken Emil Frey Racing	14	Ferrari 296 GT3	10	8 laps
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