A dream race weekend was experienced by Denmark's Nicki Thiim as he secured two victories and two pole positions. It also marked Aston Martin's first-ever victory in DTM.
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| Photo: ADAC Motorsport |
The fifth race weekend of the DTM season took place at the tight, short and tricky Norisring. The circuit measures only 2.1 kilometres, with lap times dropping below 50 seconds. It is like the Monaco Grand Prix circuit, but for GT3 cars, which brush the barriers almost every lap in search of the fastest possible lap time.
Aston Martin driver Nicki Thiim showed incredible pace right from the first qualifying session ahead of Saturday's race, setting a new Norisring lap record of 48.449 seconds and securing pole position.
Maro Engel and Arjun Maini lined up alongside polesitter Thiim on the starting grid, but Thiim controlled the race from the front and brought home Aston Martin's first-ever DTM victory. The positions behind him remained unchanged, with Engel finishing second ahead of Maini in third. Lucas Auer crossed the finish line in fourth in his Mercedes, while Thierry Vermeulen completed the top five.
"To get the first DTM win for Aston Martin, and at the Norisring, my favourite circuit, feels incredible. This moment is already the highlight of the year for me. The race was interrupted for a while, which was a big challenge mentally. As such, I am all the happier with the win," said Thiim.
Sunday followed the same script as the 37-year-old Danish driver secured his second pole position of the weekend and was in the best possible position to claim a second victory.
The race itself was slightly affected by rain, but nothing that could slow the Aston Martin driver down, and after 62 laps around the Norisring, he completed a perfect weekend with another victory.
"An unbelievable weekend for me! Two pole positions and two wins feel like a dream. After my father in 1992, my grand goal has always been for the name Thiim to one day return to the top of the table in the DTM. Finn Wiebelhaus put me under incredible pressure over the course of the race. My experience definitely helped me there," said Thiim.
Wiebelhaus, in the Ford Mustang, celebrated on the podium alongside Thiim after finishing second. They were joined by Lucas Auer, who completed the podium in third place.
The season still has a long way to go, with four race weekends remaining, the next one taking place at Oschersleben. The championship has a new leader, as Cairoli dropped to fourth place, 34 points behind Nicki Thiim, who inherited the championship lead from the Italian driver. Mercedes driver Maro Engel is second in the standings, nine points behind Thiim, while Lucas Auer sits third, 11 points adrift of the championship leader. The question of who will become the 2026 DTM champion therefore remains wide open.