DTM returned to the Sachsenring for the seventh round of the 2026 season, with FP1 and FP2 opening the penultimate weekend of the campaign on Friday.
Manthey Porsche set the benchmark across both sessions as championship contender Thomas Preining topped FP1 before teammate Ricardo Feller led a Manthey one-two in FP2. BMW and Mercedes-AMG remained close behind, while the weekend also marked Audi’s return to the DTM grid with Simon Connor Primm and Seyffarth Motorsport.
Preining sets the benchmark in FP1
The opening 55-minute practice session immediately put Manthey Porsche at the front. Preining set a 1:18.148 to take the fastest time of FP1 and establish what would remain the quickest lap of the entire Friday running. Kelvin van der Linde emerged as Preining’s closest challenger. The Schubert Motorsport driver took his BMW M4 GT3 Evo to second with a 1:18.235, finishing just 0.087 seconds behind the championship contender.
Feller placed the second Manthey Porsche third. His 1:18.361 left him 0.213 seconds away from his teammate as both Porsche drivers established themselves among the leading contenders early in the weekend. Jules Gounon led the Mercedes-AMG challenge in fourth for Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter, with championship leader Maro Engel directly behind him in fifth. Gounon finished 0.380 seconds away from Preining, while Engel followed another 0.036 seconds behind.
Mirko Bortolotti put his TGI Team by GRT Lamborghini sixth ahead of Ben Dörr in seventh for Dörr Motorsport. Lucas Auer completed a strong opening session for Mercedes-AMG in eighth, while Matteo Cairoli and Nicki Thiim rounded out the top ten. Marco Wittmann had a quieter start than Schubert Motorsport teammate van der Linde and ended FP1 in 12th. Further back, Maximilian Paul finished 19th on his return to the DTM grid for TGI Team by GRT.
The session also marked Primm’s first competitive appearance in the DTM. The 21-year-old finished 18th in the Seyffarth Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 as the German manufacturer returned to the series as a guest entry.
2026 DTM Sachsenring FP1 results
- Thomas Preining
- Kelvin van der Linde
- Ricardo Feller
- Jules Gounon
- Maro Engel
- Mirko Bortolotti
- Ben Dörr
- Lucas Auer
- Matteo Cairoli
- Nicki Thiim
- Bastian Buus
- Marco Wittmann
- Luca Engstler
- Thierry Vermeulen
- Timo Glock
- Tom Kalender
- Marco Mapelli
- Simon Connor Primm
- Maximilian Paul
- Nicolas Baert
- Finn Wiebelhaus
- Arjun Maini – no time
Feller leads Manthey Porsche one-two in FP2
Manthey Porsche remained at the head of the field when the DTM returned to the Sachsenring for the second practice session, although Feller replaced Preining at the top of the order. Feller produced a 1:18.857 to take first place, beating his teammate by just 0.030 seconds. Preining followed with a 1:18.887 to complete a Manthey one-two and underline Porsche’s pace ahead of Saturday’s first qualifying session.
Wittmann made significant progress compared with FP1. After finishing 12th in the morning, the two-time DTM champion climbed to third with a 1:18.918. Just 0.061 seconds separated him from Feller at the top. Gounon again finished fourth and remained Mercedes-AMG’s highest-placed driver for the second consecutive session. His 1:18.946 put the Frenchman only 0.089 seconds away from the benchmark, leaving four drivers covered by less than one tenth of a second.
Thiim also moved forward after finishing tenth in FP1. The Comtoyou Racing driver took fifth in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3, 0.161 seconds behind Feller. Engel followed in sixth, while Auer placed another Mercedes-AMG seventh. Dörr continued his strong Friday with eighth after also finishing seventh in FP1.
Thierry Vermeulen improved to ninth for Emil Frey Racing, with Bastian Buus completing the top ten for Land-Motorsport. Only 0.370 seconds separated Feller from Buus as the field remained tightly packed towards the front. Van der Linde experienced a contrasting session after his second place in FP1. The BMW driver dropped to 14th, while Wittmann took over as Schubert Motorsport’s leading representative.
Audi continues DTM return with Primm
Audi’s return provided another major storyline during Friday practice. Seyffarth Motorsport entered Primm in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 as a guest starter, increasing the Sachsenring field to 22 cars. The team usually competes in the ADAC GT Masters and made its DTM debut this weekend. As a guest entry, Primm is not eligible to score championship points. After finishing 18th in FP1, Primm ended the FP2 at the DTM weekend at the Sachsenring in 20th. His 1:19.823 left him 0.966 seconds behind Feller and placed him ahead of Paul and Comtoyou Racing’s Nicolas Baert. Paul finished 21st after placing 19th during the opening session, while Baert completed the FP2 order in 22nd.
2026 DTM Sachsenring FP2 results
- Ricardo Feller
- Thomas Preining
- Marco Wittmann
- Jules Gounon
- Nicki Thiim
- Maro Engel
- Lucas Auer
- Ben Dörr
- Thierry Vermeulen
- Bastian Buus
- Tom Kalender
- Mirko Bortolotti
- Matteo Cairoli
- Kelvin van der Linde
- Timo Glock
- Finn Wiebelhaus
- Arjun Maini
- Luca Engstler
- Marco Mapelli
- Simon Connor Primm
- Maximilian Paul
- Nicolas Baert
Manthey Porsche ends Friday on top
Manthey Porsche ultimately controlled Friday practice at the Sachsenring. Preining set the overall fastest lap of the day in FP1 before Feller led his teammate in a Manthey one-two during the FP2 at the DTM weekend at the Sachsenring. BMW also demonstrated competitive pace across the two sessions. Van der Linde finished second in FP1 before Wittmann moved into third in FP2, while Gounon placed fourth in both sessions to lead the Mercedes-AMG contingent.
Engel remained close to the front with fifth and sixth-place finishes, an important start to the weekend as the championship battle intensifies. The Mercedes-AMG driver arrived at the Sachsenring with 160 points, just one ahead of Preining, while Thiim sits third on 139 points. With Manthey showing strong pace from the opening session and several manufacturers remaining within striking distance, the field now turns its attention to Saturday morning’s first qualifying session before Race 1 later in the day.
