Lucas Auer took the Race 1 win in DTM in Lausitzring from Maro Engel, while Jack Aitken did so in Race 2 from Rene Rast.
Race 1 –
Pole-setter Auer defended his position at the start of the third DTM race of the season on Saturday afternoon, extending his lead to two seconds as the race progressed. He was pursued by Engel in second place ahead of Rast, who was able to move up two places in the early stages. On lap 22, Auer was the first driver from the leading pack to switch to new Pirelli slicks. Engel waited two more laps before completing his pit stop and returned to the track ahead of the Austrian driver.
Racing on cold tyres, however, the Monaco resident was unable to stay ahead of Auer, who made the most of his warmer slicks to move back into the lead. After 42 laps, Auer secured his eleventh victory in the DTM, finishing ahead of Engel and Rast. Jules Gounon in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Marco Wittmann (Fürth) in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo enjoyed some tough duels in the second half of the race, with the Frenchman coming out on top to claim fourth position.
Thomas Preining (A) finished the third championship race in sixth place in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Seventh spot went to Ferrari driver Jack Aitken (GB) from Emil Frey Racing, while Ayhancan Güven (TR) drove the second 911 from Manthey EMA to eighth place. Ben Dörr (Butzbach) finished ninth in the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, claiming a top-ten finish for the second race in a row. DTM newcomer Ben Green (GB) crossed the line in tenth place in the Ferrari 296 GT3.
Result: https://www.dtm.com/en/results?season=2025
Race 2 –
Sunday’s race at the Lausitzring thrilled spectators from the word go, with plenty of tough wheel-to-wheel duels and numerous overtaking manoeuvres. While pole-setter Aitken and BMW driver Marco Wittmann (Fürth) managed to hold on to their leading positions, Rast worked his way up from eighth to third place. He was followed by Maro Engel (Monaco) in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Thierry Vermeulen (NL) in the second Ferrari from Emil Frey Racing, in fourth and fifth respectively.
Aitken and Rast were able to extend their advantage to around eight seconds, with Wittmann dropping back as he struggled with braking issues. Rast enjoyed the strategic advantage, moving into the lead after the first of two mandatory pit stops and appearing to be on course for victory with a solid four-second lead after the second service. However, Aitken refused to give up and closed the gap as the end of the race approached. On the penultimate lap, he produced a spectacular overtaking manoeuvre to grab the lead from Rast, claiming his fifth win in the DTM after 42 laps. Rast was followed by Gounon, lapping faster as the race progressed, with Jordan Pepper (ZA) fourth in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 and Engel finishing in fifth place.
Reigning champion Mirko Bortolotti (I) raced well in the Lamborghini from Abt Sportsline, producing a great chasing performance to move up from 20th to sixth position. Vermeulen finished seventh in his Ferrari, while Wittmann overcame technical problems to cross the line in eighth place. Championship leader Lucas Auer (A) finished ninth in the Mercedes-AMG GT3, defending his lead in the overall standings ahead of Gounon. Former Formula 1 driver Timo Glock (Kreuzlingen) finished tenth, placing his McLaren 720S GT3 Evo in the points for the first time this season.
Result: https://www.dtm.com/en/results?season=2025
[The story is as per press release]
