DTM Hockenheim: title favourite Preining dominates practice but urges caution

Perfect start for Thomas Preining at the DTM season finale at Hockenheim: the Austrian Manthey Porsche driver, who leads Maro Engel by 23 points and Marco Wittmann by 24 points in the overall standings with two races remaining, shone in the two free practice sessions on Friday on both dry and wet tracks.

In the first session, which remained dry apart from a few drops of rain, the title favourite set the fastest time of the day with a 1:36.974, making him 0.050 seconds quicker than Winward Mercedes driver Jules Gounon.

Engel's team-mate went off the track at the Sachs corner on the following lap and ended up stranded in the gravel trap. The Winward Mercedes was not damaged. For Gounon, however, the session, which had to be neutralised with a full-course yellow period for the recovery, was over.

Preining set his fastest time in the closing stages of first practice on the seventh lap of a qualifying simulation. The time should be rated highly, because the 28-year-old was only around seven tenths slower than Gilles Magnus' qualifying record from last year (1:36.259).

"I feel good," Preining said after first practice. They had tried to implement the findings from the test "both in terms of set-up and driving. I think we managed that quite well." Nevertheless, the result should be treated with caution: "The yellow period at the end compromised the run on the new tyre for everyone. It is not the true picture, but it is nice to start well."

Preining also dominated the rain-hit second practice with a fastest time of 1:47.823. The conditions were certainly demanding, because with rain threatening, many drivers completed their qualifying simulation right at the start of first practice. And that was in low temperatures of twelve degrees air and 16 degrees track temperature.

How did Preining's title rivals fare? Schubert BMW driver Marco Wittmann was 0.209 seconds slower than Preining in the overall classification, putting him third in the day's classification. The German started the first session with a qualifying simulation - and posted a 1:37.444 on his third lap.

A little later he completed another qualifying simulation and was almost three tenths quicker on his third lap than before. That is likely attributable to the track evolution from rubber being laid down.

In second practice on a wet track, Wittmann was not as strong: the two-time DTM champion ended up 15th, 1.328 seconds back. Nevertheless, the M4 GT3 Evo also seems to work on a wet track, as team-mate Kelvin van der Linde was second, just 0.092 seconds behind Preining.

Winward Mercedes driver Engel finished sixth in the dry first practice, 0.366 seconds back. The 41-year-old set the time on the fourth lap of his qualifying simulation. On a wet track later on, he was eighth, 0.760 seconds back.

The positions of the other title contenders? Landgraf Mercedes driver Lucas Auer, who is fourth in the championship and still has a theoretical chance of the title, was 11th, 0.525 seconds back.

In his qualifying simulation, Auer was on course for a possible fastest time after setting the best time in the first sector, but was then held up by Grasser Lamborghini driver Maximilian Paul and had to abandon the lap.

Fifth-placed Emil Frey Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli (+0.743) ended up 14th, and sixth-placed Comtoyou Aston Martin driver Nicki Thiim (+1.708) was 20th. Only his team-mate Nicolas Baert was slower.

Comtoyou had already feared a difficult race weekend, but the gap is currently huge: Thiim was still 0.324 seconds adrift even of Land Porsche driver Bastian Buus in 19th place.

While the Ford and the Lamborghini made a strong impression, the Emil Frey Ferrari also no longer seems to be as strong as it was at the test, although Cairoli had to abandon his qualifying simulation because of Gounon's off.

How was Cairoli's team-mate Thierry Vermeulen, who injured his left foot during his celebration jump after his Barcelona victory last weekend, doing? The Dutchman contested both practice sessions and finished 16th, 0.922 seconds back. "So far there are no negative signs, it looks good," technical director Jurg Flach believes Vermeulen can also contest the race days.

In any case, his GT World Challenge Europe team-mate Ben Green would be ready as a substitute, and is on site at Hockenheim.

On Saturday morning, a preliminary decision in the title fight could already come in the first qualifying session, because if Preining is as strong again, it is likely to become difficult for his rivals. The weather forecast points to further weather capers and rain.

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

- The Motorsport.com Team