DTM | 2026 Oschersleben | Qualifying 1 | Preining continues strong form with pole

Spread the love

Thomas Preining continued his impressive form at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben by securing pole position during DTM Qualifying 1. The Manthey Porsche driver produced a 1:21.862 during the closing minutes of Qualifying 1 to beat Luca Engstler by just 0.070 seconds.

Maro Engel qualified third for Mercedes-AMG Team Winward, while Lucas Auer completed the second row of the grid. Ben Dörr delivered a strong performance to place his Dörr Motorsport McLaren fifth.

Drivers wait for the right moment

The 20-minute qualifying session began with an air temperature of 22°C and a track temperature of 26°C. Most drivers completed an installation lap before returning to the pit lane, allowing the teams to use the heat from the brakes to bring the tyres closer to their working range.

HRT Ford Racing chose a different approach and kept both cars in the garage at the start. The Ford Mustang GT3 had shown an ability to warm its tyres quickly, allowing the team to delay its first runs.

The circuit remained quiet during the opening half of the session, with drivers waiting before beginning their decisive qualifying attempts. The first lap times remained around ten seconds slower than the practice benchmark as the tyres gradually reached the correct temperature.

Preining takes control in the closing minutes

Bastian Buus became the first driver to set a competitive time when he completed a 1:22.430 with around four minutes remaining. However, the order changed quickly once the rest of the field began its fastest laps.

Preining moved to the top with a 1:21.997, becoming the first driver to break the 1:22 barrier. The Austrian then improved again on his final attempt and recorded a 1:21.862, which secured his first pole position of the season.

No other driver could match Preining’s final lap, allowing the 2023 DTM champion to complete a clean sweep of the weekend’s sessions up to that point. He had already topped both Friday practice sessions before converting Manthey Porsche’s pace into pole position.

Engstler leads the challengers

Engstler came closest to denying Preining pole position. The Red Bull Team Abt driver placed the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 on the front row after finishing just 0.070 seconds behind the Porsche.

Engel qualified third, 0.113 seconds away from pole, and also gained a championship point by finishing ahead of championship leader Nicki Thiim. Auer followed his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver in fourth, only 0.137 seconds behind Preining.

Dörr produced one of the strongest results of the session by securing fifth in the McLaren 720S GT3. Jules Gounon qualified sixth ahead of Mirko Bortolotti and Matteo Cairoli, while Timo Glock placed the second Dörr Motorsport McLaren ninth. Tom Kalender completed the top ten.

Feller and Thiim struggle

Ricardo Feller could not repeat the pace that had placed him second in both practice sessions. The Manthey driver qualified 11th, finishing 0.424 seconds behind his pole-sitting teammate. Marco Wittmann led BMW’s challenge in 13th, while Kelvin van der Linde finished 15th in the second Schubert Motorsport entry.

Championship leader Thiim endured a particularly difficult session and qualified 18th for Comtoyou Racing. The Aston Martin driver finished 0.803 seconds behind Preining, while teammate Nicolas Baert ended the session in 20th. With 19 drivers separated by less than one second, the close qualifying order set up a competitive opening race at Oschersleben.