DTM Sachsenring: Stolz scores first win of 2023 for Mercedes

The HRT driver enjoyed a perfect rolling start from pole position as his rivals tiptoed through the tight, technical opening sequence of corners.

Ten minutes later came a brief safety car intervention to clear debris. This destroyed the clear lead Stolz had already built up, but the German simply pulled away again.

He then pitted at the first opportunity when the window opened, despite this meaning a long second stint that would ask much of the tyres on a hot day.

The move ensured him track position over Thomas Preining, and he was able to manage a comfortable lead to the end and claim his second career DTM win.

Preining had run third behind Ayhancan Guven before the pitstops, but pitting one lap earlier and good work from his Manthey EMA crew vaulted him past the Turkish driver and into a runner-up position he would also hold to the end.

Guven kept Preining within sight to complete the podium, ahead of the battling ABT Audis of Ricardo Feller and Kelvin van der Linde.

Lamborghini star Mirko Bortolotti, who led the points battle coming into this weekend, had a rough day out at the twisty little Sachsenring track and lost the lead of the championship to Preining.

The Italian ran fourth before the pitstops, but then it all unravelled. His troubles began with an ABS problem that led to the rear wheels spinning while the car was jacked up during his pit visit.

Officials took a dim view and Bortolotti was immediately issued a slow-lap penalty. On top of all that, the SSR Performance driver had to contend with flat spots on his front tyres after a big lock-up exiting the pits.

Bortolotti had to settle for ninth place and will go into Sunday's second race with a six-point deficit to Preining.

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

       

Driver Info			Main Information Additional Data
Cla	Driver	#		Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points
1	L. Stolz Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	4		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	-			25
2	T. Preining Manthey EMA	91		Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+2.688	2.688		20
3	A. Güven KÜS Team Bernhard	24		Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.942			16
4	R. Feller Abt Sportsline	7		Audi R8 LMS Evo II	45	+6.968	6.026		13
5	K. van der Linde Abt Sportsline	3		Audi R8 LMS Evo II	45	+0.269			11
6	S. Van Der Linde Schubert Motorsport	1		BMW M4 GT3	45	+5.457	5.188		10
7	D. Olsen Manthey EMA	90		Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.355			9
8	R. Rast Schubert Motorsport	33		BMW M4 GT3	45	+0.788	0.433		8
9	M. Bortolotti SSR Performance	92		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	45	+7.735	6.947		7
10	T. Vermeulen Emil Frey Racing	69		Ferrari 296 GT3	45	+2.422			6
11	F. Perera SSR Performance	94		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	45	+0.461			5
12	L. Heinrich KÜS Team Bernhard	75		Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+1.464	1.003		4
13	A. Maini Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	36		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	+0.591			3
14	J. Owega Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf	84		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	+5.393	4.802		2
15	M. Dienst Toksport WRT	99		Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.493			1
16	T. Heinemann Toksport WRT	9		Porsche 911 GT3 R	45	+0.614	0.121
17	D. Schumacher Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	27		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	45	+7.005	6.391
18	M. Wittmann Project 1 Motorsport	11		BMW M4 GT3	45	+0.690
19	L. Engstler Liqui Moly Team Engstler	8		Audi R8 LMS Evo II	45	+7.615	6.925
20	S. Holzem Project 1 Motorsport	56		BMW M4 GT3	45	+5.145
21	A. Deledda SSR Performance	6		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	45	+7.939	2.794
22	P. Niederhauser Tresor Orange1	83		Audi R8 LMS Evo II	36	9 laps
23	L. Auer Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	22		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	35	1 lap
24	C. Schmid GRT Grasser Racing Team	63		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	27	8 laps
25	M. Engel Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf	48		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	23	4 laps
26	M. Drudi Tresor Orange1	40		Audi R8 LMS Evo II	18	5 laps
27	J. Aitken Emil Frey Racing	14		Ferrari 296 GT3	10	8 laps
View full results