Stolz claims first win of the season for Mercedes-AMG, Kelvin van der Linde back on top of the DTM table

Luca Stolz (Brachbach) stayed cool in the heat of the Sachsenring: the 28-year-old from Mercedes-AMG Team HRT kept his calm in a turbulent race on Sunday and crossed the finish line first after 44 laps of racing.

“I am finally back on the DTM podium, and as a winner too. The victory was a little fortunate, with Thierry Vermeulen picking up a penalty – he was the fastest man today. It still feels great though, and I hope we can carry this momentum into the closing stages of the season,” said Stolz. Twelve races into the season, the Mercedes-AMG racer is the ninth driver to record a win. Six of the seven manufacturers in the DTM have now won at least one race this season.

Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) was runner-up, 0.769 seconds behind Stolz. That was enough to see the Audi driver from Abt Sportsline return to the top of the table. Third place went to Thierry Vermeulen (NL), who was denied a possible maiden DTM win by a penalty, which he received for breaching the pit stop regulations. 48,000 visitors watched the races at the Sachsenring, which really put the drivers and their cars through their paces in high temperatures.

Dutchman Vermeulen, at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3 for Emil Frey Racing, took advantage of the first pole position of his DTM career and pulled away from the rest of the field at the start. Mercedes-AMG driver Stolz overtook Kelvin van der Linde and moved into second place ahead of the South African. They were followed in fourth and fifth place by Maro Engel (Monaco) from Mercedes-AMG Team Winward and Jack Aitken (GB) in a second Ferrari run by Emil Frey Racing. After the mandatory pit stops, the top four drivers were bunched closer together. Reigning champion Thomas Preining (A) gained three positions with a fast tyre change, and climbed into fifth place.

There was drama on lap 24: three-time champion René Rast (Bregenz), in a BMW M4 GT3, made contact with Jordan Pepper (ZA) from Lamborghini Team TGI by GRT ahead of him. The DTM debutant in turn collided with BMW works driver Marco Wittmann (Fürth), and both cars ended the race in the gravel bed.

The Safety Car was required to make an appearance. The re-start did not initially bring about any changes, until Vermeulen was handed a penalty lap for a pit stop offence committed by his crew. Stolz took advantage, moved into the lead, and went on to take an excellent victory ahead of Kelvin van der Linde. Behind Vermeulen, Preining managed to fight his way into fourth, while Engel ended the race in fifth place.

Saturday’s winner Aitken crossed the finish line sixth, while Mirko Bortolotti (I) came home seventh in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 for SSR Performance. That was not enough for the Italian to hang onto top spot in the table, and he now trails championship leader Kelvin van der Linde by seven points. BMW drivers Sheldon van der Linde (ZA) and Rast from Schubert Motorsport finished eighth and ninth. Nicki Thiim (DK) rounded out the top ten in a second Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 run by SSR Performance.

Kelvin van der Linde: “I did not have the speed to win, and spent a lot of time looking in my mirror. After eighth place on Saturday, it was important to bounce back in the title race. The good grid position played a big role, and the team got the best out of the car.”

Thierry Vermeulen: “It looked for a long time as though I was going to get my first DTM win, so third place feels a bit disappointing. After the penalty lap, I was unfortunately not able to find a way past Kelvin van der Linde. However, it has been a super weekend for the team, with Jack Aitken’s win on Saturday and my third place. I hope we can back that up.”

Results are HERE