Preining Clinches Title With Race 2 Pole

Thomas Preining was crowned the 2023 DTM champion by taking pole position for Race 2 at Hockenheim, as the three points awarded for leading qualifying put him out of reach for nearest challenger Mirko Bortolotti.

The No. 91 Porsche 911 GT3 R stormed to a best lap of 1:36.800, beating Bortolotti’s No. 92 SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 to pole by a mere 0.006 seconds.

Preining’s late improvement came after Bortolotti jumped to the top by posting a 1:37.016 before improving again to put in a 1:36.806.

It was then that Preining narrowly sneaked ahead to take his third pole position of the season, putting him level with Bortolotti in terms of qualifying sessions led.

Crucially, the three points gained for pole position mean that Preining now holds an insurmountable 28-point lead over his nearest rival. With 25 points available for victory in this afternoon’s race, it means the Austrian clinches the title with a race to spare.

It marks the first DTM title for Preining, who also becomes the first Austrian driver to be crowned champion in the series’ history.

Luca Stolz qualified third aboard the No. 4 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, with outgoing champion Sheldon van der Linde completing the second row in the No. 1 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.

Laurin Heinrich picked up fifth for KÜS Team Bernhard, ahead of the No. 69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 of Thierry Vermeulen and Kelvin van der Linde’s No. 3 ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

The top ten was rounded out by GRT Grasser Racing Team driver Christian Engelhart, Ayhancan Guven and Maro Engel.

The final DTM race of the weekend kicks off at 1:30 p.m. CEST (7:30 p.m. EDT).

RESULTS: Qualifying 2