Red Bull Ring – Race 1: Thomas Preining first winner, cruel end for Jules Gounon

It only took a little over one round for the 2026 season of DTM does not reserve its first safety car. It was the German Ben Dörr, who had set a superb second fastest time in qualifying, who went off the track after slight contact with the Porsche by Bastian Buus (Land-Motorsport). Ben Dörr lost everything after already having a poor start to the race, which saw him lose three positions, while up front Maro Engel continued to lead the proceedings.

The German then lost considerable time due to a puncture, losing his pole position advantage to the No. 91 Porsche of Thomas Preining. The Austrian, thanks to a well-judged strategy, took the lead to win his second home race ahead of his compatriot Lucas Auer (Mercedes BenzMaro Engel, who made a comeback at the end of the race, managed to secure a podium finish.

Jules Gounon betrayed by mechanics

But that honor should have gone to another Mercedes: the No. 48 of Jules Gounon was in second place when a technical problem forced him to retire with just over a minute remaining on the clock. The Frenchman thus lost a possible third consecutive podium finish. Red Bull Ring after finishing 3rd and 2nd in the two races in 2025.

His retirement allowed Bastian Buus to finish 4th in his DTM debut, ahead of Germans Tom Kallender and Marco Wittmann. However, Kelvin van der Linde failed to score any points in his return to DTM with BMW. The South African also suffered a mechanical issue in the closing laps, forcing him to retire.
There is one race left for all the drivers, which will take place on Sunday starting at 13:30 p.m.

DTM – Red Bull Ring
The classification of Race 1

1) Thomas Preining (Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO n°91 – Manthey)
2) Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO n°22 – Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf)
3) Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO n°80 – Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol)
4) Bastian Buus (Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO n°29 – Land Motorsport)
5) Tom Kalender (Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO n°84 – Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf)
6) Marco Wittmann (BMW M4 GT3 EVO n°11 – Schubert Motorsport)
7) Timo Glock (McLaren 720S GT3 EVO n°16 – Dörr Motorsport)
8) Arjun Maini (Ford Mustang GT3 EVO n°36 – HRT Ford Racing)
9) Matteo Cairoli (Ferrari 296 GT3 EVO n°14 – Emil Frey Racing)
10) Ricardo Feller (Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO n°90 – Manthey)