Thomas Preining topped both DTM FP1 and FP2 at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, completing a strong Friday for Manthey Porsche. The Austrian set the fastest time of the day during FP2, while teammate Ricardo Feller finished second in both sessions. Luca Engstler ended the afternoon in third for Red Bull Team Abt, ahead of Lucas Auer and Mirko Bortolotti.
Preining moves ahead late in FP1
The opening practice session began in cool conditions, with temperatures of around 17°C. Teams used the session to work on their set-ups around the technical 3.667-kilometre circuit.
Feller moved to the top of the timesheets during the closing stages, but Preining responded shortly before the chequered flag. He completed a 1:22.493 to take first place, finishing 0.179 seconds ahead of his teammate.
The result gave Manthey Porsche an early one-two and showed that both drivers had found a competitive balance around Oschersleben.
2026 DTM Oschersleben FP1 results
- Thomas Preining
- Ricardo Feller
- Mirko Bortolotti
- Maro Engel
- Lucas Auer
- Jules Gounon
- Ben Dörr
- Luca Engstler
- Nicki Thiim
- Matteo Cairoli
- Thierry Vermeulen
- Finn Wiebelhaus
- Tom Kalender
- Kelvin van der Linde
- Marco Wittmann
- Bastian Buus
- Arjun Maini
- Timo Glock
- Marco Mapelli
- Nicolas Baert
Fresh tyres produce late FP2 improvements
The field returned to the circuit for FP2 on Friday afternoon, with teams initially focusing on longer runs and further set-up changes. The order began to change during the final 15 minutes when the drivers switched to fresh Pirelli slick tyres and started their qualifying simulations.
Lucas Auer initially moved his Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf car into first place. However, Preining produced another late improvement with less than two minutes remaining. The Manthey driver completed a 1:22.425, beating his morning time by 0.068 seconds and securing the fastest lap of Friday.
Feller also improved late in the session to reclaim second place and complete another Porsche one-two. Engstler moved into third after his team made several changes to his Lamborghini throughout the day. Auer dropped to fourth, while Bortolotti placed another Lamborghini inside the top five.
2026 DTM Oschersleben FP2 results
- Thomas Preining
- Ricardo Feller
- Luca Engstler
- Lucas Auer
- Mirko Bortolotti
- Maro Engel
- Jules Gounon
- Ben Dörr
- Marco Wittmann
- Tom Kalender
- Thierry Vermeulen
- Matteo Cairoli
- Marco Mapelli
- Timo Glock
- Kelvin van der Linde
- Nicki Thiim
- Arjun Maini
- Bastian Buus
- Finn Wiebelhaus
- Nicolas Baert
Porsche sets the benchmark
Preining ended Friday as the driver to beat at the DTM round at Oschersleben after leading both FP1 and FP2 and delivering his strongest lap during the qualifying simulations.
Feller’s two second-place finishes also highlighted Manthey’s pace across both cars. However, Engstler, Auer and Bortolotti remained close enough to suggest that Porsche could face a stronger challenge when qualifying begins.
With the leading times arriving during the final minutes of FP2, tyre preparation and clear track position could play an important role during the competitive sessions.
