Marco Wittmann Wins DTM Sachsenring Race 1 to Narrow Championship Deficit

Schubert BMW driver Marco Wittmann secured his second victory of the season in Race 1 of the DTM at the Sachsenring after converting his pole position into a race win. The two-time champion narrowly held off Jules Gounon of Winward Mercedes by less than half a second at the finish line, reducing his deficit in the overall drivers' standings to 14 points.

Gounon briefly took the lead following the pit stops, but Wittmann quickly reclaimed first place after capitalising on a minor lock-up by his rival into the first corner. Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining completed the podium in third place, marking his fifth consecutive podium finish and extending his overall championship lead. Kelvin van der Linde and Maro Engel finished fourth and fifth, respectively.

The race saw early disruption when a multi-car incident triggered a safety car deployment, leading to the retirements of Abt Lamborghini drivers Luca Engstler and Marco Mapelli. Further back, Lucas Auer of Landgraf Mercedes fought his way up to 11th place after starting from the rear of the grid due to a qualifying crash.