Doerr Takes First McLaren Win at Lausitzring; Cairoli Tops Race 2

Ben Doerr scored McLaren’s first victory in the DTM in the opening race at the Lausitzring last weekend while a second win of the season for Emil Frey Racing Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli catapulted him into the points lead.

There was a heavy rain shower shortly before the first race but Doerr was one of a trio of drivers who braved it out on slicks at the start who then timed their pit stop to perfection when it coincided with a full-course yellow to retrieve the stricken sister Doerr Motorsport McLaren 720S GT3 Evo of Timo Glock.

It had looked like Marco Mapelli would give the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 its first victory in global competition but the ABT driver was handed a 15-second post-race penalty for speeding during that FCY period, which instead gifted Doerr the spoils.

Mapelli was still able to take second, while the Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo of Ricardo Feller completed the podium, despite also receiving the same penalty as the Lamborghini racer.

Comtoyou Racing’s Nicki Thiim had taken the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo’s first series pole but he plummeted down the order at the start after also opting for slicks.

He was nevertheless able to quickly recover and finished fourth, but was unfortunate to pit the lap before the FCY, which left him unable to catch the trio ahead.

Fifth went to the Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Marco Wittmann, who was another to start on slicks, while points leader Lucas Auer’s Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was the first of the finishers who began the race on wets.

Auer had used those tires to vault from fifth into the lead at the start while fellow Mercedes-AMG racer Jules Gounon and Cairoli completed the top-eight.

Another new brand appeared on pole for race two with Arjun Maini’s HRT Ford Mustang GT3 EVO grabbing top spot and he was able to maintain this at the start and continued to lead after an early safety-car period to retrieve debris.

However, a slower stop for Maini dropped him behind Cairoli’s Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo after the first round of pit visits.

Maini initially challenged the Italian but then slipped back and dropped behind Thiim’s Aston during the second pit stop cycle.

Thiim closed on Cairoli at the flag but the Ferrari driver was able to triumph to open up a single-point lead over Auer, while Thiim’s second place still represented Aston’s best DTM result.

Maini came under pressure from teammate Finn Wiebelhaus in the closing stages and the latter was able to impressively move ahead to complete the podium and give Ford its first series rostrum appearance.

Behind Maini, a pair of Lamborghinis completed the top-six, Mirko Bortolotti’s Grasser Racing Team example finishing ahead of Luca Engstler’s ABT machine.

Seventh place for Maro Engel brought him level on points with fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Auer, who could only manage 11th.

It was another tricky race for BMW with the best of the German manufacturer’s machines again belonging to Wittmann, who was eighth.

The next round of the season is due to take place at the Norisring on July 4-5.