Aitken Dominates Sachsenring Race 1

Jack Aitken took his third DTM victory of the season in dominant fashion by converting pole position in a lights-to-flag display during Race 1 at the Sachsenring.

The No. 14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 finished 1.878 seconds clear of the No. 92 SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 driven by Mirko Bortolotti.

With the Italian second and Kelvin van der Linde finishing in eighth place, Bortolotti took over the lead in the championship by a margin of six points.

Maro Engel, meanwhile, completed the podium aboard the No. 130 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and remained third in the standings.

Aitken fended off a challenge from Bortolotti on the opening lap and remained effectively unchallenged for the remainder of the contest, while Engel passed Luca Stolz at Turn 1 after 16 minutes to capture third.

Stolz and Mercedes-AMG Team HRT stablemate Arjun Maini completed the top five, while Thomas Preining finished sixth in the No. 91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R.

The Austrian took the position after prevailing following a lengthy battle with the No. 3 ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II of Kelvin van der Linde with a forceful move up the inside of Turn 1.

Van der Linde eventually also dropped behind Rene Rast, who started the race last but prolonged his opening stint and subsequently used the advantage of fresher tires to charge up the order and finish seventh.

The Van der Linde brothers came home in eighth and ninth with Kelvin ahead of Sheldon’s No. 31 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

Jordan Pepper completed the top ten upon his DTM debut in the No. 63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini, finishing ahead of Thierry Vermeulen, Lucas Auer and Marco Wittmann.

Nicki Thiim and Maximilian Paul picked up the final points-paying positions in 14th and 15th, respectively.

RESULTS: Race 1