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Perera Takes Lights-To-Flag Win in Oschersleben Opener

Franck Perera beats Tim Heinemann to victory in DTM opener at Oschersleben…

Photo: Gruppe C Photography

Franck Perera took a dominant victory in the opening DTM race at Oschersleben, converting pole position into his first win in the championship.

The Frenchman, driving the No. 94 SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, took the checkered flag with a lead of 3.987 seconds over the No. 9 Toksport WRT Porsche 911 GT3 R of Tim Heinemann.

Jack Aitken completed the podium aboard the No. 14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3.

Perera started the race from pole position with Aitken alongside him on the front row, but the Lamborghini factory driver held on to the lead during the opening exchanges.

He then opened up a gap to teammate Mirko Bortolotti, who moved into second position at the start.

Perera retained his advantage throughout the mandatory stops and kept clear of Heinemann and Aitken in the closing minutes.

The German and the British driver both secured podium finishes upon their debut outings, while Perera took his maiden win in only his second start following a guest appearance at Norisring last year.

It also marks the first victory for Lamborghini in DTM.

Ricardo Feller came out on top in a late-race battle with Rene Rast to finish fourth, with Rast completing the top five ahead of Kelvin van der Linde.

Laurin Heinrich crossed the line in seventh position just ahead of Bortolotti, who faded from podium contention after his mandatory stop as he struggled with cold tires on his outlap.

Christian Engelhart and Dennis Olsen completed the top ten for Toksport WRT and Manthey EMA, respectively.

Olsen and teammate Thomas Preining, who finished one position behind him in eleventh, both encountered issues during their mandatory pitstops.

Both drivers endured slow stops as mechanics struggled to get wheels attached, a problem that also overcame reigning champion Sheldon van der Linde.

While the two Porsche drivers continued on to score points, it led to retirement for the No. 1 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

Clemens Schmid and Maro Engel finished 12th and 13th, with Jusuf Owega and Thierry Vermeulen occupying the final points-scoring positions.

RESULTS: Race 1

Davey Euwema is Sportscar365's European Editor. Based in The Netherlands, Euwema covers the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, among other series.

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