Wittmann makes BMW a DTM winner at Sachsenring

Marco Wittmann (Schubert Motorsport) is right back in the race for the DTM title after the BMW driver won the first of two races this weekend at the Sachsenring on Saturday. His second victory in a row was enough to propel him to third in the table and cut the gap to the top to 14 points.

"The DTM win at the Sachsenring is very special for me. It was missing from my bucket list," said Wittmann. "Jules Gounon was gaining on me all the time in the closing stages of the race. However, I knew that I would get the win if I just avoided making any mistakes," Wittmann added after his 21st DTM victory and the first BMW success at the Sachsenring.

There were also celebrations in the camp of Gounon (Mercedes-AMG Team): the Frenchman finished second to make it onto the podium for the first time this season. Thomas Preining (Manthey) was third. The Porsche works driver had moved to the top of the table after qualifying, and extended his lead in the championship to six points.

Having claimed his first pole of the season, Wittmann started Saturday's race at sharp end and held the lead with a strong getaway. Behind him, Gounon and Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport) both gained a position and slotted into second and third place. Preining, on the other hand, dropped back to fourth. Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey Racing) found himself in fifth place in a Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo at this point. By the time they came in for their mandatory pit stop, the leading duo had extended their lead to several seconds.

Wittmann came in for a new set of Pirelli slicks on lap 16, followed one lap later by Gounon. The Frenchman returned to the track in the lead, but was overtaken shortly thereafter by Wittmann, whose tires had already had time to get up to the optimal temperature.

Behind them, a fast pit stop allowed Preining to gain a position and take third place ahead of van der Linde. Maro Engel (Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol) followed in fifth in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. After 41 laps of racing, the top five ended the 13th of this season's 16 races in this order. Engel, who had started eighth, did a good job of damage limitation with some smart tactics, and now trails Preining by six points in second place in the overall standings.

Sixth place went to Italian Cairoli, followed in seventh by the Lamborghini Temerario GT3 of Mirko Bortolotti (TGI Team by GRT). Title contender Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou Racing) came home eighth after a quiet race for him in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Thierry Vermeulen (Emil Frey Racing) finished ninth in the second Emil Frey Racing Ferrari. Ben Dörr (Dörr Motorsport) rounded out the top 10 in a McLaren 720S GT3 Evo.

Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) suffered a setback in the battle for the DTM title. The Austrian started the race from the pit lane following a crash in qualifying, which was in no way his fault, and eventually had to settle for 11th place. Auer now finds himself 36 points behind championship leader Preining.

Watch Sunday's DTM Race 2 at Sachsenring live on RACER Network and the RACER+ App, starting at 7:15am ET.