Auer celebrates second DTM victory of the season at Lausitzring

Lucas Auer is the man of the moment in the DTM. The Mercedes-AMG driver produced a dominant performance to claim victory at the Dekra Lausitzring on Saturday, topping the podium for the second time this season.

“I was able to pull away a bit at the start, which was important for that tight first corner. After the tire change, I have to admit that I wasn’t sure if I would get past Maro Engel. But I battled away and it worked out. The Lausitzring is just a perfect fit for me. I recorded my first DTM win here in 2016 and I simply love driving on this circuit,” said the 30-year-old. Brand teammate Maro Engel (Monaco) from the Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing finished second, crossing the line 1.3 seconds behind him. Rene Rast from Schubert Motorsport was the best BMW driver in third position.

Pole-setter Auer defended his position at the start of the third DTM race of the season on Saturday afternoon, extending his lead to two seconds as the race progressed. He was pursued by Engel in second place ahead of Rast, who was able to move up two places in the early stages. On lap 22, Auer was the first driver from the leading pack to switch to new Pirelli slicks. Engel waited two more laps before completing his pit stop and returned to the track ahead of the Austrian driver.

Racing on cold tires, however, the Monaco resident was unable to stay ahead of Auer, who made the most of his warmer slicks to move back into the lead. After 42 laps, Auer secured his 11th victory in the DTM, finishing ahead of Engel and Rast. Jules Gounon in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and Marco Wittmann (Fürth) in the BMW M4 GT3 Evo enjoyed some tough duels in the second half of the race, with the Frenchman coming out on top to claim fourth position.

Thomas Preining finished the third championship race in sixth place in the Porsche 911 GT3 R. Seventh spot went to Ferrari driver Jack Aitken from Emil Frey Racing, while Ayhancan Güven drove the second 911 from Manthey EMA to eighth place. Ben Dörr finished ninth in the McLaren 720S GT3 Evo, claiming a top-10 finish for the second race in a row. DTM newcomer Ben Green (GB) crossed the line in 10th place in the Ferrari 296 GT3.

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