Stolz inherits second race win after Vermeulen penalty

HRT Mercedes driver Luca Stolz took his first victory of the 2024 DTM season in the second race at the Sachsenring on Sunday, after long-time leader Thierry Vermeulen was penalised for a pit stop infringement.

Max Verstappen’s protégé Vermeulen was on course for his first DTM victory after dominating the race from pole position, matching the performance of his Emil Frey Ferrari teammate Jack Aitken on Saturday.

But with just under 15 minutes remaining, race control gave the Dutchman a penalty lap for a mistake by his team, dropping him to third place and giving Stolz his third DTM victory.

Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde finished second, ahead of Vermeulen, who was recovering and thus regained control of the championship.

At the start of the race, Vermeulen made a flawless start from pole position into Turn 1, while van der Linde dropped back to fourth place behind Stolz and Luca Engstler’s Grasser Lamborghini.

Vermeulen extended his lead over Stolz in the first stint of the race, while Kelvin van der Linde managed to pass Engstler in Turn 12 to return to the podium.

By the time the pit stop window opened after 20 minutes of racing, Vermeulen’s lead had grown to 2.7 seconds, at one point exceeding three seconds.

Thierry Vermeulen, Emil Frey Racing Ferrari Ferrari 296 GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Stolz was the first of the leaders to pit on lap 17, followed by Vermeulen on the next lap.

That reduced the lead to 1.7 seconds, but the Dutchman had already increased his lead again when the safety car was called out with 25 minutes to go following a collision between debutant Jordan Pepper and Schubert BMW’s Marco Wittmann.

The incident occurred when three-time champion Rene Rast hit the rear of Pepper’s GRT Lamborghini entering Turn 1, putting him in the path of an innocent Wittmann and sending them both into the gravel.

Wittmann was furious after the incident, shoving Pepper back as he approached him and throwing his gloves away as he walked to the service road. He later apologized to Pepper for his “overreaction.”

When the race resumed with 19 minutes left on the clock, Vermeulen quickly built up a lead of 1.7 seconds, but his hopes of a first victory were dashed when he was forced to go through the long loop for a pit stop infringement. Replays showed that a mechanic had left a tire on the ground in the pit lane, which is against the rules.

Vermeulen rejoined in third place behind Stolz and Kelvin van der Linde, with Stolz taking Mercedes’ first win of 2024 by 0.769 seconds.

Vermeulen kept the pressure on Kelvin van der Linde until the finish, but had to settle for third place, which was still good for his first podium finish in the series.

Kelvin van der Linde, Team ABT Sportsline Audi R8 LMS GT3

Photo by: Alexander Trienitz

Second place goes to Abt driver Kelvin van der Linde, who benefited from the Balance of Performance boost for Audi the night before. This puts him back in the lead of the championship, while his closest rival Mirko Bortolotti in the SSR Performance Lamborghini only managed seventh.

Manthey EMA driver Thomas Preining finished fourth at the finish, after passing the Winward Mercedes of Maro Engel at the safety car restart, when Engel attempted to pass Kelvin van der Linde.

On Saturday, winner Aitken was classified sixth, while Bortolotti only managed seventh after qualifying eleventh.

Ayanchan Guven was eighth in the other Manthey Porsche, while the two remaining Schubert BMWs completed the top 10, with Sheldon van der Linde ahead of Rene Rast.

Rast, who had moved up from last on the grid, remains under investigation for the collision with Pepper that also saw Wittmann retire.

Engstler, who was in contention for the podium early in the race, retired with damage after colliding with Guven at Turn 1.

DTM Sachsenring – Race Two Results