Guven Wins Rain-Hit Zandvoort Race 1

Ayhancan Guven secured a second career victory in DTM by beating Nicki Thiim in a rain-affected opening race of the weekend at Zandvoort.

The No. 90 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R finished a mere 0.323 seconds ahead of Thiim’s No. 2 ABT Sportsline Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, with Guven fighting off his Danish rival after a late safety car restart.

Guven’s win, which followed on from a maiden victory at Oschersleben earlier this year, came after a race that was headlined by tire strategy.

With the track still wet after a previous rain shower, the majority of the field started the race on wet tires.

Notably, Thiim and fellow Lamborghini racer Maximilian Paul were amongst those to opt for a different strategy by starting on slicks.

This caused the two to plummet towards the back of the field in the opening laps before making rapid progress up the field towards the opening of the pit window.

Out front, Guven entered the pit window third behind the two GRT Grasser Racing Lamborghinis of Jordan Pepper and Luca Engstler.

However, a chaotic pitstop sequence saw Guven leapfrog Engstler’s No. 19 Lamborghini to gain a virtual second place.

The tight Zandvoort pitlane led to several close calls, with Jules Gounon receiving a triple penalty lap for an unsafe release while Engstler notably made contact with a tire resting on the pit apron that then bounced into one of the mechanics tending to Rene Rast’s No. 33 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

When Pepper then made a slow stop from the lead of the field, it left the South African vulnerable to Guven, who quickly pounced and captured first place.

Thiim and Paul, meanwhile, saw their tire call from the start of the race rewarded when both cars initially rejoined the track in front of Guven after making their stops.

While Guven dispatched Paul with relative ease, Thiim put up a firmer fight, with the No. 90 Porsche eventually passing the No. 2 Lamborghini at Hunserug.

Guven’s race-winning overtake was briefly investigated for potentially passing under yellow, as the move was made approaching an area where Thierry Vermeulen’s No. 69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 had ground to a halt.

However, Guven would be not be penalized, leaving him clear to claim his second victory of both the season as well as his DTM career.

That was despite a late-race challenge from Thiim, who pressured the Turkish racer after a late safety car restart.

Race control had neutralized the race after both Vermeulen’s No. 69 Ferrari and the No. 33 BMW of Rast had to be recovered.

Rast went off and hit the barriers at Turn 8 after his car appeared to become uncontrollable as a result of damage he had sustained following a previous hit into the barriers at the Tarzanbocht, where he had slid off the track in damp conditions.

Paul completed the podium, while Engstler initially crossed the line in fourth behind him but received a penalty on Sunday morning for a lap one collision with Maro Engel.

The five-second penalty, which was converted from a penalty lap he was unable to serve during the race, dropped the German from fourth to tenth in the results.

As a result, Lucas Auer was classified fourth ahead of Morris Schuring and Marco Wittmann.

Schuring beat Wittmann to the line in a photo finish, having initially run as high as fourth but dropping back after attempting to overtake Paul at the restart.

Jordan Pepper and Mirko Bortolotti moved up to seventh and eighth as a result of Engstler’s penalty. Engel was promoted to ninth.

The German, having started on the front row, lost out on a chance to fight for podium honors after Winward Racing appeared to call the No. 24 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo into the pits a lap before the mandatory pit window opened.

Sunday’s second and final DTM race of the weekend will start later than the traditional start time, kicking off at 4:30 p.m. CEST (10:30 a.m. EST) to accommodate drivers taking part in the 24 Hours of Le Mans test day.

RESULTS: Race 1 (updated)