DTM race Sachsenring 2: Proud victory after Ferrari faux pas, middle finger crash!

Bitter disappointment for Thierry Vermeulen: The Emil Frey Ferrari driver loses his first career victory in the DTM due to a team error during the pit stop! Instead, Luca Stolz (HRT-Mercedes) celebrates his first success of the season and the first Mercedes-AMG victory in exactly one year. Stolz also triumphed at the Sachsenring back then.

Kelvin van der Linde (Abt-Audi) takes second place and thus takes the lead again. Vermeulen ends up on the podium in third place, and his first career success in the DTM was within his grasp!

Vermeulen controlled the race at will, took the lead after the start and maintained the top position even after the mandatory pit stop.

However, because a mechanic had not held the left rear wheel in his hand during the pit stop but had temporarily put it down, the Emil Frey Ferrari driver had to take a penalty lap. A penalty that cost around five seconds and dropped the son of Max Verstappen's manager Raymond Vermeulen back to third place.

Many dropouts: only 13 riders reach the finish line!

Thomas Preining (Manthey-EMA-Porsche) finished fourth, followed by Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) and the previous day's winner Jack Aitken (Emil-Frey-Ferrari). Bortolotti, who started with a ten kilogram ballast after his second place on Saturday, finished in seventh place.

Ayhancan Güven (Manthey-EMA-Porsche) and the two Schubert-BMW teammates Sheldon van der Linde and Rene Rast complete the top 10. Curiously, Sheldon van der Linde fell back to last position after a tire puncture in the early stages, but then fought his way back to the front.

Heavy crash between Pepper & Wittmann

The South African was supported by a strange race that was marked by numerous retirements. Only 13 drivers even saw the chequered flag! At halftime, however, a serious accident between DTM debutant Jordan Pepper (Grasser-Lamborghini) and Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) led to the only safety car phase of the race.

Pepper tried to defend himself aggressively in the duel against Rast, but they came into contact on the approach to the first corner. The South African lost control of his golden Grasser Lamborghini and crashed into the back of Wittmann. An incident that was investigated by the stewards after the race and caused heated discussions and a middle finger from Pepper to Rast.

Luca Engstler (Grasser-Lamborghini), Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren), Maximilian Paul (Paul-Lamborghini), Ricardo Feller (Abt-Audi) and Arjun Maini (HRT-Mercedes) also did not see the checkered flag on Sunday.

Kelvin van der Linde re-leader tables

With second place, Kelvin van der Linde once again takes the lead in the standings. The Abt Audi driver leads by seven points ahead of Mirko Bortolotti, who only moved to the top of the standings on Saturday. Maro Engel also maintains his chances and is in third place, 15 points behind.

It seems certain that the 2024 DTM season will remain exciting until the last race in Hockenheim (19 and 20 October). Before that, the DTM will be visiting abroad for the second time this year: the next two races of the season will take place at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg at the end of September.