DTM Norisring: Thiim scores emotional first win, Bortolotti seizes points lead

Nicki Thiim became the first son of a former DTM winner to also claim a series victory as he took an emotional triumph in Sunday’s clash at the Norisring.

The son of 1986 champion Kurt Thiim converted pole position in his SSR Performance Lamborghini to record a second landmark victory in seven days, having prevailed in the Spa 24 Hours last weekend.

As was the case on Saturday, the first part of the race was uneventful as the top four on the grid maintained their positions at the start.

Thiim led team-mate Mirko Bortolotti, Maro Engel (Winward Racing Mercedes) and points leader Kelvin van der Linde (Abt Sportsline Audi), with Luca Stolz (Team HRT Mercedes), Saturday polesitter Jack Aitken (Emil Frey Racing Ferrari), defending champion Thomas Preining (Manthey EMA Porsche) and Stolz's team-mate Arjun Maini bottled up behind.

The race really came alive when the pit window opened with 20 minutes of the hour-long race gone. With none of Saturday’s weather demons on the horizon, most of the pack were in early.

Engel and Kelvin van der Linde were among the first to stop, the former arguably only maintaining his position through a dubious release into the South African's path.

But the resulting clear air made all the difference for Engel, who used it to build up a run on Bortolotti as the Italian emerged from his stop one lap later. Engel launched a move into Turn 1 and completed in the second part of the Esses.

Nicki Thiim, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3 (Photo by: Alexander Trienitz)

While the perfectly executed undercut tied up second place for Engel, the three-corner battle cost both him and Bortolotti time just as Thiim was making his own stop. That enabled him to emerge with a net race lead of over six seconds.

Others to gain during the stops were Maini and Saturday’s winner Rene Rast (Schubert Motorsport BMW), who were fourth and fifth when it all shook out. Losers included Kelvin van der Linde, who complained he’d had to brake thanks to Engel’s release and then clashed trying to get around Aitken at the Esses, which cost both drivers time.

A late safety car, which pulled in with under five minutes left on the clock, had no impact on the top five as Thiim headed Engel and Bortolotti.

The main mover after the restart was Preining, who entertained the Norisring faithful with passes on Sheldon van der Linde (Schubert Motorsport BMW) and then Stolz to claim sixth place.

The SSR team had additional grounds for celebration as Bortolotti moved into the lead of the drivers’ championship, six points ahead of Kelvin van der Linde who could only manage 10th place.

DTM Norisring Race 2 Results

 

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Driver	#		Car	Laps	Time	Interval	Pits	Points
1	N. Thiim SSR Performance	94		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	69	1:01'07.550			25
2	M. Engel Mercedes-AMG Team Winward	130		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	69	+0.777 1:01'08.327	0.777		20
3	M. Bortolotti SSR Performance	92		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	69	+1.880 1:01'09.430	1.103		16
4	A. Maini Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	36		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	69	+3.098 1:01'10.648	1.218		13
5	R. Rast Schubert Motorsport	33		BMW M4 GT3	69	+4.023 1:01'11.573	0.925		11
6	T. Preining Manthey EMA	91		Porsche 911 GT3 R	69	+5.211 1:01'12.761	1.188		10
7	L. Stolz Mercedes-AMG Team HRT	4		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	69	+5.661 1:01'13.211	0.450		9
8	A. Güven Manthey EMA	90		Porsche 911 GT3 R	69	+8.157 1:01'15.707	2.496		8
9	K. van der Linde Abt Sportsline	3		Audi R8 LMS Evo II	69	+8.489 1:01'16.039	0.332		7
10	L. Auer Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter	22		Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo	69	+9.575 1:01'17.125	1.086		6
11	M. Wittmann Schubert Motorsport	11		BMW M4 GT3	69	+10.598 1:01'18.148	1.023		5
12	R. Feller Abt Sportsline	7		Audi R8 LMS Evo II	69	+11.003 1:01'18.553	0.405		4
13	F. Perera GRT Grasser Racing Team	63		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	69	+11.513 1:01'19.063	0.510		3
14	S. Van Der Linde Schubert Motorsport	31		BMW M4 GT3	69	+11.665 1:01'19.215	0.152		2
15	T. Vermeulen Emil Frey Racing	69		Ferrari 296 GT3	69	+12.304 1:01'19.854	0.639		1
16	B. Dörr Dörr Motorsport	25		McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	69	+15.289 1:01'22.839	2.985
17	C. Schmid Dörr Motorsport	85		McLaren 720S GT3 Evo	69	+18.093 1:01'25.643	2.804
18	J. Aitken Emil Frey Racing	14		Ferrari 296 GT3	69	+24.215 1:01'31.765	6.122
19	L. Engstler GRT Grasser Racing Team	19		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	64	+5 Laps 57'46.395	5 Laps
dnf	P. Maximilian Paul Motorsport	71		Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2	14	+55 Laps 14'51.319	50 Laps
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