Preining Beats Aitken to Win Red-Flagged Norisring Race 2

Thomas Preining used an undercut strategy in the second pitstop window to beat Jack Aitken to victory in DTM Race 2 at the Norisring, which was red flagged after a multi-car incident on the opening lap.

The No. 91 Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R passed Aitken’s No. 14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 at the S-Kurve with under ten minutes of racing remaining.

That came after Manthey opted to pull Preining into the pits one lap before Aitken during the second of two mandatory pitstop windows.

A quicker pitstop for the No. 91 Porsche allowed Preining to attack the Ferrari, initially shooting up the inside at the Turn 1 hairpin but running wide and allowing Aitken back through.

However, the pass for the race win was made a few moments later at the S-Kurve, with the Austrian then going on to pull a margin of 1.592 seconds over the No. 14 Ferrari.

It marked Preining’s first victory in the series in over a year, having last stood on the top step of the podium at the Lausitzring last year.

The 2023 champion started the race from sixth on the grid but fought his way into third place on an opening lap that featured a multi-car incident that resulted in a red flag.

Jules Gounon, Morris Schuring, Marco Wittmann, Mirko Bortolotti and Nicki Thiim tangled in a scramble that left the latter three cars stranded on the circuit, with an initial safety car quickly upgraded to a full race stoppage as marshals worked to clear the blockage.

Wittmann, Bortolotti and Thiim all retired while Gounon and Schuring were able to continue.

After the restart, Thierry Vermeulen’s No. 69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari maintained the advantage it had held from starting from pole position, but the Dutchman dropped back behind both Preining and Aitken during the first pitstop window.

He was then unable to factor in the fight for the lead for the rest of the race, coming home in third to complete the podium.

Maro Engel finished fourth ahead of Arjun Maini and the third Emil Frey Ferrari driven by Ben Green.

Rene Rast crossed the line in seventh position, followed by Lucas Auer and Jordan Pepper, while Gounon completed the overall top ten.