After DTM Qualifying 2 at the Nürburgring, Thomas Preining remained focused on maximising his opportunities as he prepared to continue his championship pursuit from eighth on the grid.
The Manthey Porsche driver entered Sunday at the Nürburgring second in the standings after strengthening his title challenge with a second-place finish behind Matteo Cairoli in Race 1. Preining had started alongside Cairoli on the front row and remained second throughout much of Saturday’s race to secure another important haul of championship points.
However, Qualifying 2 presented a more difficult challenge. Jules Gounon took pole with a new Nürburgring DTM qualifying record of 1:25.062, while Preining qualified eighth, 0.209s behind the Mercedes-AMG driver. Championship leader Engel secured fifth, placing three cars between himself and Preining on the Race 2 grid.
Despite the setback, Preining remained focused on maximising his opportunities as the championship entered a decisive phase.
Preining prepared to take risks in title pursuit
With Preining sitting second in the championship and facing a deficit of almost 20 points, his approach to the remaining rounds has not changed. Instead, the 2023 DTM champion believes closing the gap will require him and Manthey to take chances.
Speaking exclusively to Pit Debrief after DTM Qualifying 2 at the Nürburgring, Preining explained that Mercedes’ strength means playing it safe will not be enough.
“Our approach remains the same. We’re still relatively far down the championship table, nearly 20 points behind. If we want to catch up, we’ll have to take risks. Unfortunately, we’re up against a dominant Mercedes team, and it’s not easy to compete against them. We’ll have to go all out.”
Mercedes had already demonstrated its pace on Sunday morning. Gounon claimed pole, while Engel lined up fifth and Lucas Auer qualified seventh, directly ahead of Preining.
That left the Porsche driver with work to do in Race 2 if he wanted to reduce his championship deficit further.
Success ballast and traffic add to Race 2 challenge
Preining’s second-place finish in Saturday’s opening race also brought an additional complication for Sunday, with success ballast adding weight to his Porsche.
Starting eighth meant Preining faced the prospect of spending considerably more time in traffic than he had during Race 1, when he started from second and immediately established himself among the leaders. With overtaking and strategy likely to play an important role, the Austrian hoped Manthey could find a way to move him forward.
“It’s hard for me to say. Ultimately, I hope things go well at the start. I hope we can make something of it through our strategy. It’s bound to be tough out on the track. Generally speaking, it’s never easy for us in the race when we’re in traffic. But actually, I’m always confident because I believe in my team and I believe in myself. It’s just not exactly easy.”
The exceptionally tight qualifying margins only added to the challenge. The first nine drivers finished within 0.240s of Gounon, leaving Preining only a fraction away from the front despite starting on the fourth row.
His confidence in Manthey therefore remained important as the team looked towards strategy as one possible route through the tightly packed field.
Preining focused on his own race despite Engel threat
Engel’s fifth-place starting position gave the championship leader an immediate advantage over Preining before Race 2. However, Preining insisted he would not allow the Mercedes driver’s position to dictate how he approached his own race.
Instead, he planned to concentrate on extracting everything available from his Porsche.
“I’m focused on my race. All I can do is make the most of the package we’ve got. At the end of the day, Maro [Engel], they can only beat themselves. We can count ourselves lucky that they’re relatively inconsistent. That Gounon is on pole sometimes, and that Maro doesn’t manage it every time. But when they’re on form, they’re almost impossible to catch.”
Mercedes’ Qualifying 2 performance underlined the challenge facing Preining. Gounon started from pole, Engel from fifth and Auer from seventh, giving the manufacturer three cars ahead of Preining on the grid.
Nevertheless, with the championship still firmly in reach, Preining had no intention of changing his approach. Rather than managing his position in the standings, the Manthey driver remained prepared to attack and take the risks necessary to close the gap as the 2026 DTM title fight moved towards its final rounds.
