Stolz Scores Dominant Maiden Win at Nürburgring

Luca Stolz took his maiden DTM victory in dominant fashion during Sunday’s race at the Nürburgring.

The German finished well clear of second-placed Dennis Olsen in the second of two races after he took the late during a round of stops following an early safety car.

Stolz started the race from seventh but found himself up to fifth by the end of the opening lap, taking advantage from a slower start from the likes of Kelvin van der Linde and Maximilian Goetz while Sheldon van der Linde led from pole position.

Briefly before the mandatory pit window opened, a collision between David Schumacher and Rene Rast left the latter in the gravel at the final corner, triggering a safety car.

As the field pitted under safety car, Stolz’ No. 4 Mercedes-AMG Team HRT Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo vaulted ahead of the No. 31 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 on pit exit and took the lead.

At the restart, while Stolz maintained the lead while Van der Linde dropped back to the lower end of the top ten.

Stolz from there controlled the race and secured his maiden win by a margin of some four and half seconds over the No. 94 SSR Performance Porsche 911 GT3 R of Dennis Olsen.

Lucas Auer finished third in the No. 22 Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Mercedes, with Kelvin van der Linde finishing fourth.

The South African fought a lengthy battle with the No. 63 GRT Grasser Racing Team Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo of Mirko Bortolotti, who had made his way up from ninth on the grid.

Bortolotti spent several laps trying to fight his way past Van der Linde, culminating in contact at turn 4 that caused a left rear puncture for the Lamborghini and sent him into retirement for the second consecutive race.

Maximilian Goetz completed the top five ahead of Nico Mueller, Thomas Preining and Mikael Grenier.

Finishing ninth, Sheldon van der Linde further extended his championship advantage over Bortolotti while Marco Wittmann completed the top ten.

RESULTS: Race 2