As Motorsport.com reports, Thomas Preining has made a statement at the Hockenheim DTM season finale by dominating both Friday practice sessions across dry and wet conditions. The Austrian championship leader, driving for Manthey, holds a 23-point margin over Maro Engel and is 24 points clear of Marco Wittmann with just two races remaining.
Preining clocked the quickest time of the day in the opening dry session with a 1:36.974 during a late qualifying simulation on his seventh lap. That lap was just around seven tenths shy of Gilles Magnus' qualifying benchmark from last year. Behind him, Winward Mercedes driver Jules Gounon finished 0.050 seconds back before sliding off at the Sachs corner. The excursion beached the Mercedes in the gravel and brought out a full-course yellow, though the machine escaped damage.
Despite topping the charts, Preining urged caution regarding the true hierarchy. "The yellow period at the end compromised the run on the new tyre for everyone. It is not the true picture, but it is nice to start well," he remarked, noting the team put their test findings to good use. He then mastered the afternoon's rain-hit second practice with a 1:47.823, navigating temperatures resting at twelve degrees for the air and 16 degrees on the track.
Title contenders experienced mixed fortunes throughout the opening day. Schubert BMW's Marco Wittmann slotted into third overall in the dry, 0.209 seconds adrift of the pace, though he slipped to 15th in the afternoon downpour. His M4 GT3 Evo stablemate Kelvin van der Linde fared better in the wet, ending up second and just 0.092 seconds away from Preining. Meanwhile, Maro Engel took sixth in the morning, 0.366 seconds back, and eighth in the wet for Winward Mercedes.
Further down the order, Landgraf Mercedes driver Lucas Auer ended the dry session 11th, trailing by 0.525 seconds. Auer looked poised to challenge for the top spot after setting the fastest first sector, only to be blocked on his qualifying run by Grasser Lamborghini driver Maximilian Paul. Emil Frey Ferrari's Matteo Cairoli wound up 14th after his own simulation was cut short by Gounon's red flag.
Things looked considerably grimmer for Comtoyou Aston Martin driver Nicki Thiim, who lagged 1.708 seconds back in 20th place, ahead of only team-mate Nicolas Baert. Elsewhere, Emil Frey's Thierry Vermeulen pushed through the pain barrier after injuring his left foot during a celebration jump following his Barcelona victory last week. The Dutchman placed 16th, and technical director Jurg Flach confirmed he showed no negative signs, though GT World Challenge Europe team-mate Ben Green remains on standby as a substitute at Hockenheim.
