Nicki Thiim admitted he remained in disbelief after completing a perfect weekend with Comtoyou Racing and Aston Martin at the 2026 DTM Norisring round and taking the championship lead at the halfway point of the season.
The Comtoyou Racing driver converted pole position into victory in both races, collecting the maximum available points at his favourite circuit. However, Sunday’s race presented a much greater challenge as rain, a red flag, additional weight and sustained pressure from Finn Wiebelhaus forced Thiim to defend his lead throughout the afternoon.
Thiim left speechless by perfect Norisring weekend
Thiim arrived at the Norisring sitting sixth in the DTM drivers’ standings. Two pole positions and two victories later, the Dane left the street circuit as the new championship leader. Despite achieving a clean sweep, Thiim struggled to process the scale of his accomplishment immediately after Race 2.
“I’m still trying to wake up here, it’s unbelievable, I’m still totally speechless. It’s no secret, this is my favourite place, favourite track, but yeah, with the family, with the Aston, with Cometoyou, we just put the, they gave me a perfect package. Today was not easy with the rain and the young gun here, they’re really putting pressure on, but yeah, I’m still trying to realise what just happened this weekend. So right now I’m just speechless, maybe we can talk in one hour again.”
Rain and Wiebelhaus test Thiim’s control during the DTM weekend at the Norisring
Thiim started Race 2 from pole but faced a more difficult task than he had in Saturday’s contest. The additional weight placed greater stress on the Aston Martin under braking and acceleration, while changing weather conditions made the already unforgiving street circuit even more unpredictable.
Rain began falling during the opening stages and intensified while the drivers remained on slick tyres. Marco Mapelli’s collision with Matteo Cairoli then prompted a red flag, interrupting the race before the first mandatory pit-stop phase. Thiim nevertheless maintained the lead after the restart and credited Comtoyou Racing’s pit crew with helping him stay ahead of Wiebelhaus.
“Yeah, first of all, we knew it would be hard with the 20 kilos, be the heavy boy in the grid, but again, as I said, if I want to carry those 20 kilos, it’s around here, as it’s so hard to overtake here. But then yeah, as always, when you’re leading, something happens, so first it started with the rain, which was pretty interesting, I think for all of us. So there was some Scandinavian flicks in there, and some really good drifting.”
“As you could see, one guy lost it, so and yeah, from there on, after the pit stop, we had a good pit stop, but certainly this young guy here, he came out of nowhere, I was really struggling the first couple of laps to hold him back. But as we know, when you’re close behind someone, everything is running hot, so I guess at some point he’s losing brakes and performance on engine, so I think that was my saviour.”
Red flag brings relief as conditions deteriorate
The rain created a difficult decision for the field as drivers attempted to keep their cars on the circuit without losing too much time. Thiim could not determine whether the changing conditions helped him while he was in the car, as his immediate priority remained avoiding the walls surrounding the Norisring. However, he acknowledged that the red flag may ultimately have worked in his favour, particularly as the rain continued during the stoppage.
“It’s hard to judge at that moment, just so focused on keep it on black stuff. As we know, one mistake here and it’s game over. And also with the red flag, I saw the rain actually continue for quite a long time, so to keep it on the black stuff would have been a tricky one, interesting for you fans, but I think it came good for us, we’re still alive.”
Ford’s straight-line speed forces Thiim to defend
Wiebelhaus remained Thiim’s closest challenger throughout the race. The HRT Ford driver used the Mustang GT3’s straight-line speed and the slipstream to close on the Aston Martin, particularly after the first round of pit stops. Thiim repeatedly covered the inside line into the Norisring’s heavy braking zones. With his tyres taking longer to reach their optimal operating window, the Dane had to defend while trying to bring the car back under control.
“Yeah, again, the Ford is a beast on a straight, and obviously being the first guy on the road with a good slipstream, I really had to cover him for some laps. But as I just said, my hope was just at some point everything is gonna run hot for him. And I don’t know if that’s what happened, but I think that was what happened, because I was really on the limit at that point, after the pitstop, I really struggled to switch on that set of tyres. But yeah, again, the boys made a good job on the pitstop, especially the second one was really good. It was a little bit easier for me to control it.”
Comtoyou and Aston Martin progress pays off
Thiim’s Norisring success also demonstrated the progress Comtoyou Racing and Aston Martin have made since entering the DTM together in 2025.
The team faced a challenging opening phase during its first campaign as it adapted the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 to the championship’s circuits and sprint-racing format. Thiim believes the combination of his experience on German tracks and Comtoyou’s existing knowledge of Aston Martin machinery has helped the project move forward.
“I think it’s just putting it together, like the experience I have from the German tracks, the series a little bit, and obviously we all know Aston Martin as a family, as a team, so to try and put that knowledge together on those special tracks we have in a DTM is what puts us here right now. But yeah, it’s only still the second season, so we still have upcoming races where they struggled a lot last year, but obviously let us leave that for tomorrow. I just want to enjoy this moment to be leading halfway through the season.”
Championship lead fulfils a childhood dream
Thiim’s victories at the Norisring moved him to the top of the DTM championship standings, completing a major turnaround after he entered the weekend outside the leading group.
When asked whether Comtoyou now had every ingredient required to challenge for the title, Thiim refused to make any firm predictions. Instead, he reflected on the personal significance of leading the DTM decades after his father, Kurt Thiim, competed at the front of the championship.
“Didn’t Güven do it last year, Sachsenring? I don’t know. It’s okay. Right now, I don’t know what to give you. I’m still living this fantasy, trying to wake up here. But yeah, it’s a childhood dream. As I said over there, as my father, as the hero of them all, I think, yeah, 92, I think I said, it was the last time a Thiim was leading DTM. So just to say that, it’s already such a big thing for me personally. But yeah, only halfway through the season, so much can happen in this awesome race series.”
“So yeah, we keep up the good work, obviously, and push for it. But yeah, we got the best of the best here. So it’s going to be tough.”
Additional weight increases the challenge
The weight added to Thiim’s Aston Martin became particularly noticeable in the Norisring’s braking and acceleration zones. However, the circuit’s limited overtaking opportunities allowed the Dane to defend more effectively than he might have managed at a faster, more open venue.
Thiim knew that keeping Wiebelhaus behind would require him to push to the limit while hoping the Ford’s performance would eventually decline in the turbulent air.
“Yeah, obviously, it’s mainly on the brake and acceleration, which you have a lot of here. But I think that the rain could have helped me if it would have stayed. Obviously, you don’t feel that as much.”
“But as I also keep saying, this is the place where I want to have those 20 kilos if it’s like this, because other tracks, it will be impossible to keep the guys behind you with this weight. So I knew it was going to be a tough one today, but I gave it really all to try and keep Finn [Wiebelhaus] behind me, as you could see, in the hope that his brakes, everything is going to run hot, because that was really the only hope I had, to keep him behind. But yeah, obviously, you feel those 20 kilos and everything.”
Thiim ultimately absorbed every challenge Race 2 presented and brought the Aston Martin home ahead of Wiebelhaus and Lucas Auer. His perfect Norisring weekend placed him at the head of the championship, but the Dane remained cautious about looking too far ahead with half of the season still to come.
