Kelvin van der Linde has claimed his first DTM victory for BMW. The South African, who started the race from pole position, temporarily lost the lead to Thierry Vermeulen (Emil Frey Ferrari) after a mistake. However, he fought his way back to the front after the second pit stop - and subsequently drove to an unchallenged victory with a lead of more than six seconds.

Yet, the Schubert BMW driver was already considered a hot contender for the win before the race started. Not only had the Balance of Performance been adjusted once again in favor of the M4 GT3 Evo on Saturday evening, but Kelvin van der Linde also benefited in Sunday's second race from a fresh set of tyres, which he had saved due to his early retirement the previous day.

"I knew we had the fresh tyres for the end," said the jubilant race winner in an interview with ProSieben. "A mega team result with Marco, but my heart almost stopped after that slide out there. I had a brief moment before the final corner where I thought the race was over."

"But fortunately, the outlap was good," added van der Linde, who stormed back to the front after the second pit stop. "We got through well, many cars ahead of me were positioned correctly, and we were able to bring the victory home."

Ben Dörr claims maiden podium for Dörr-McLaren

Behind the victorious BMW driver, Ben Dörr delivered another DTM premiere. The McLaren junior drove sensationally to second place, celebrating not only his first DTM podium but also handing the Dörr squad its maiden podium finish. Marco Wittmann (Schubert BMW) completed the podium in third.

Maro Engel (Winward Mercedes) crossed the line in fourth position, reclaiming the championship lead. He was followed by Emil Frey Ferrari driver Thierry Vermeulen, who was shuffled down the order in the closing stages of the race. Luca Engstler and Marco Mapelli (both Abt Lamborghini) finished Sunday's race in sixth and seventh places.

Thomas Preining (Manthey Porsche, 8th) and Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser Lamborghini, 9th) battled for eighth place in the final stages, while Manthey Porsche driver Ricardo Feller completed the top 10. Previous championship leader Lucas Auer (Landgraf Mercedes) endured a difficult race and ultimately crossed the finish line in 13th position.

Bastian Buus retires following puncture

At the start, pole-sitter Kelvin van der Linde managed to hold onto the lead, followed by Abt Lamborghini driver Luca Engstler, who squeezed past Thierry Vermeulen. Just like the previous day, the local hero did not get a good launch and dropped back to third position within the opening meters.

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Behind them, Ben Dörr slotted into position, followed by Thomas Preining and Mirko Bortolotti, the latter losing two positions on the opening lap. Further back in the field, there were more duels and contacts, though without any major incidents.

However, for the Land squad, the difficult weekend in the Netherlands continued following Saturday's disqualification: Bastian Buus had to pit after just three laps due to a puncture. The Dane even fell off the lead lap as a result and permanently parked his Porsche shortly thereafter.

Pit stop drama at Winward Mercedes

The order at the front remained unchanged until the opening of the first mandatory pit stop window. Engstler, Auer, and Cairoli were among the first drivers from the leading group to come in for a tyre change. The service was far from optimal for the championship leader, causing Auer to drop out of the top 10 early on.

Things did not go smoothly for the Winward squad either: first, Maro Engel lost nearly 15 seconds in the pits because a wheel gun apparently caused issues. Shortly afterwards, teammate Jules Gounon was also hit, losing valuable time as well because the problem could not be resolved in time.

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"We don't know exactly what the problem is right now, whether it's the air pressure or the wheel gun," Winward team boss Christian Hohenadel said in an interview with ProSieben. "The problem, of course, is that in this sequence we are in now, we only had two laps and couldn't solve the problem."

However, the AMG team was not alone with a poor stop: the tyre changes were not quite perfect at Dörr either, meaning Dörr and Glock lost valuable seconds during their pit stops. Meanwhile, everything went smoothly for leader Kelvin van der Linde, allowing the BMW driver to initially defend his lead after the first stop.

Jules Gounon triggers sole Safety Car period

After the first pit stop window closed, the Safety Car had to be deployed briefly. Gounon had lost control of his Winward Mercedes during a duel with Arjun Maini (HRT Ford) and drove through a polystyrene sign at the side of the track, which subsequently had to be cleared from the track.

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At the restart, Vermeulen snatched position from Engstler's Abt Lamborghini, while Lucas Auer was hit and spun around by Nicki Thiim (Comtoyou Aston Martin). The Dane had to complete the penalty lap three times as a punishment and dropped back as well.

"A truly great maneuver," an ironic Auer said in an interview with ProSieben, adding: "That was important for both of us, absolutely. Now we finished second to last and last. There's nothing to say, after that, it was a day to forget."

Shortly afterwards, contact occurred between Maximilian Paul (Grasser Lamborghini) and HRT Ford driver Finn Wiebelhaus, resulting in an early retirement for both drivers. Soon after, the lead changed hands: Kelvin van der Linde ran slightly off the racing line in the final corner, a mistake Vermeulen capitalized on immediately.

The South African was unable to counter, having to let the Ferrari driver pull away and even look in his mirrors over the following laps, where Abt Lamborghini driver Luca Engstler sensed his chance at second place. However, BMW driver van der Linde managed to defend his position.

Vermeulen loses victory chance during second stop

"Of course, we had to put the tyres on relatively early, and the Ferrari is simply superior at the moment," Schubert team boss Torsten Schubert explained to ProSieben, addressing why the BMW driver's pace suddenly dropped after the halfway mark of the race.

"He has opportunities to overtake, but we will give it a try in the third stint, maybe if the pit stop goes well, he can get back into the fight," Schubert said. Kelvin van der Linde pitted immediately as the second pit stop window opened, while leader Vermeulen followed one lap later.

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While the tyre change at Schubert worked perfectly once again, Emil Frey made a fateful mistake with the leading Vermeulen: the Dutchman's Ferrari was released too early, even though the front-left wheel had not yet been fitted. As a result, the team lost crucial seconds in the battle for the lead.

Although the Dutchman returned to the track ahead of Kelvin van der Linde, the BMW driver's tyres were already in their operating window. Van der Linde therefore got back past and quickly pulled away. A difficult final phase began for Vermeulen: he lost his podium spot to Dörr and Wittmann before Maro Engel also overtook him.

With his fourth-place finish, the Winward Mercedes driver also reclaims the lead in the overall standings. Engel now has 67 points, pushing Auer (61 points) down to second place. Marco Wittmann (51 points) moves up to third place overall, followed by Thomas Preining (46 points) and Matteo Cairoli (43 points).

The third race weekend of the 2026 DTM season will take place from June 19 to 21 at the Lausitzring.

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