Ben Dörr believes increased track time and a busier racing programme have played a major role in his progress during the 2026 DTM season after securing a front-row start in Qualifying 2 at the Nürburgring.
The Dörr Motorsport driver qualified second for Sunday’s race, finishing just 0.113s behind polesitter Jules Gounon. Dörr’s performance put him ahead of Saturday’s polesitter and race winner Matteo Cairoli, who completed the top three, while just 0.240s covered the fastest nine drivers.
The result continued Dörr’s strong record at the Nürburgring, where he claimed his maiden DTM pole position in 2025. Speaking to Pit Debrief in the Mixed Media Zone after Qualifying 2, the German reflected on the factors behind the progress he has made since his first full DTM campaign.
More time behind the wheel key to Dörr’s progress
When Pit Debrief asked what had allowed him to make such a significant step compared to last season, Dörr pointed towards greater experience and, in particular, the increased amount of time he has spent racing GT3 machinery.
“Yes, of course you feel more at home here as the years go by; you feel a bit more settled. And there’s a lot of time spent driving, above all. I spend more time in the car. The first year was really all about the DTM; it was my first full-time GT3 season. But with so little track time, it’s quite a challenge. And now this year, with other series on the programme – the GT World Challenge – I’m also competing in two 24-hour races that I’ve taken part in this year: here at the Nürburgring and at Spa.”
“And that simply means significantly more time behind the wheel. It gives you a lot more confidence in the car, and I think that’s where I’ve made the biggest leap, especially this winter whilst still racing with a different team in the World Challenge. And yes, I’ve been doing a lot of testing, and I think that was the big difference – simply spending so much time in the car and being able to make up a bit of ground compared to everyone else.”
Dörr’s expanded programme has therefore given him opportunities that were missing during his first full GT3 season. Alongside his DTM commitments, the additional racing and testing mileage has allowed him to build confidence in the car and gain experience across different events and environments.
That development showed in qualifying at the Nürburgring. Despite Gounon setting a new qualifying record with a 1:25.062, Dörr remained within 0.113s of the Mercedes-AMG driver and secured a place on the front row.
Front-row start provides confidence ahead of Race 2
Dörr had already demonstrated strong pace on Saturday by qualifying fifth before moving into third at the start of Race 1. His second-place result in DTM Qualifying 2 at the Nürburgring on Sunday moved Dörr one row further forward and gave him another opportunity to fight near the front.
Asked by Pit Debrief whether starting so high up the grid provided an additional confidence boost for the second race, Dörr said:
“Yes, yesterday we were already in fifth place on the grid, which was actually very good. We moved straight up to third, and starting from second today is, of course, even better. In the front row, it’s naturally a bit trickier to react correctly on the left-hand side and keep up with the pace. Oh yes, we’ll just have to see how it goes – it’ll all work out fine.“
While the front-row position represented another sign of Dörr’s growing competitiveness, he remained mindful of the challenge presented by his starting position on the left-hand side of the grid. Nevertheless, after coming within little more than a tenth of pole position, Dörr headed into the second Nürburgring race with another opportunity to convert his improved qualifying form into a strong result.
