The DTM returned to the Nürburgring for the sixth round of the 2026 season, FP1 and FP2 opening the weekend on Friday.
Drivers faced demanding conditions throughout the day, with temperatures rising above 30 degrees Celsius and track temperatures exceeding 40 degrees. While Matteo Cairoli and Ferrari set the early benchmark in FP1, Manthey Porsche emerged at the front during the afternoon as Thomas Preining led teammate Ricardo Feller in FP2.
Cairoli leads Ferrari charge in FP1
The opening 55-minute practice session began with an air temperature of around 31 degrees Celsius and a track temperature of approximately 40 degrees.
BMW initially established itself at the front. Marco Wittmann and Kelvin van der Linde occupied the top two positions for much of FP1 as Schubert Motorsport showed promising pace around the 3.629-kilometre Nürburgring sprint layout.
However, the order changed during the closing stages. Cairoli moved his Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 to the top with a 1:26.144, taking control of the session with less than ten minutes remaining.
Lucas Auer came closest to challenging the Italian. The Mercedes-AMG driver finished just 0.050 seconds behind Cairoli, while Marco Mapelli put the new Lamborghini Temerario GT3 third for Abt Sportsline. Wittmann eventually dropped to fourth ahead of teammate van der Linde in fifth. Despite losing the top positions late on, the two BMW drivers remained firmly in contention and demonstrated competitive pace throughout the opening session.
Arjun Maini placed his HRT Ford Mustang GT3 seventh, helping Ford join Ferrari, Mercedes-AMG, Lamborghini and BMW inside the top ten. Mirko Bortolotti completed the top ten in another Lamborghini as just 0.384 seconds separated the ten fastest drivers. Manthey Porsche endured a much quieter opening session. Preining finished only 14th, with Feller directly behind him in 15th. Nicki Thiim took 11th for Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin, while McLaren drivers Ben Dörr and Timo Glock ended FP1 in 18th and 19th respectively.
Christian Engelhart also faced a challenging start to his weekend. Replacing the injured Maximilian Paul at Grasser Racing Team, Engelhart finished 21st and last during his first competitive DTM session in the Lamborghini Temerario GT3.
2026 DTM Nürburgring FP1 results
- Matteo Cairoli
- Lucas Auer
- Marco Mapelli
- Marco Wittmann
- Kelvin van der Linde
- Luca Engstler
- Arjun Maini
- Maro Engel
- Jules Gounon
- Mirko Bortolotti
- Nicki Thiim
- Tom Kalender
- Finn Wiebelhaus
- Thomas Preining
- Ricardo Feller
- Thierry Vermeulen
- Bastian Buus
- Ben Dörr
- Timo Glock
- Nicolas Baert
- Christian Engelhart
Manthey Porsche strikes back in FP2
Conditions remained hot for the second DTM free practice session at the Nürburgring, but the competitive picture changed significantly. Schubert Motorsport again showed its speed early in FP2. Van der Linde and Wittmann used fresh tyres at the beginning of the session and placed themselves at the head of the order, putting BMW in a strong position as the session progressed.
Manthey Porsche then delivered its response in the closing stages. Preining produced a 1:25.517 to take the fastest time of the day, improving on Cairoli’s FP1 benchmark by more than six tenths of a second. The Austrian ended the session 0.249 seconds clear of teammate Feller, who completed a Manthey Porsche one-two.
Van der Linde had to settle for third, 0.317 seconds away from Preining, while Wittmann completed a strong Friday for Schubert Motorsport in fourth. Thiim also made considerable progress after his 11th-place finish in FP1. The Aston Martin driver climbed to fifth, finishing just over half a second behind Preining and putting Comtoyou Racing into the leading group.
Finn Wiebelhaus followed in sixth for HRT Ford, while Dörr recovered from a difficult opening session to put his McLaren seventh. Mapelli finished eighth in the session after encountering trouble earlier in FP2.
Mapelli stoppage brings out Full Course Yellow
FP2 remained largely uninterrupted, although Mapelli caused a brief Full Course Yellow after his Lamborghini stopped near the pit entry. The incident occurred around the middle of the session and temporarily slowed the field while officials recovered the car. Mapelli later returned to the track and still finished as the highest-placed Lamborghini driver in the combined Friday classification.
Maini ended FP2 ninth, while Auer completed the top ten as the best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver. Cairoli could not reproduce his FP1-leading pace in the afternoon. His 1:26.338 left him 12th in FP2, while championship leader Maro Engel finished 14th ahead of Mercedes-AMG teammate Jules Gounon.
Engelhart made one of the largest improvements between the two sessions. After finishing last in DTM FP1 at the Nürburgring with a 1:27.538, he lowered his best time to a 1:26.478 and climbed to 16th in FP2.
2026 DTM Nürburgring FP2 results
- Thomas Preining
- Ricardo Feller
- Kelvin van der Linde
- Marco Wittmann
- Nicki Thiim
- Finn Wiebelhaus
- Ben Dörr
- Marco Mapelli
- Arjun Maini
- Lucas Auer
- Bastian Buus
- Matteo Cairoli
- Luca Engstler
- Maro Engel
- Jules Gounon
- Christian Engelhart
- Tom Kalender
- Timo Glock
- Mirko Bortolotti
- Thierry Vermeulen
- Nicolas Baert
Porsche ends Friday on top
Manthey Porsche ultimately left Friday practice at the DTM Nürburgring weekend with the strongest headline after Preining and Feller overturned their difficult FP1 positions to secure the top two places in FP2.
BMW also showed consistent pace across both sessions, with Wittmann and van der Linde featuring towards the front throughout the day. Ferrari demonstrated its potential through Cairoli’s FP1 benchmark, while Aston Martin, Ford, McLaren and Lamborghini all placed cars among the leading runners during FP2.
With Preining’s fastest lap already within four tenths of the Nürburgring DTM qualifying record, the close margins across the field set up a competitive first qualifying session on Saturday.
