DTM Season Opener: Manthey EMA collects important championship points

By EMA Motorsport
May 30^th, 2023

First podium for Thomas Preining in Sunday's race
Pit stop penalty prevents first win
Manthey EMA in third place in the team standings, Olsen and Preining seventh and fourth in the drivers' standings

Meuspath. Manthey EMA contested the first two DTM races of the 2023 season last weekend in Oschersleben with the two Porsche 911 GT3 R with starting numbers 90 and 91. Thomas Preining (Austria) celebrated his first podium finish with third position in the second race. A penalty lap due to a pit stop infringement prevented the 911's first victory. The drivers scored important points in both races, putting the team in third place in the standings, and Dennis Olsen (Norway) and his teammate Preining in seventh and fourth place overall.

On the morning of 27 May, Dennis Olsen and Thomas Preining completed their first DTM qualifying session for Manthey EMA. Setting a lap time of 1:21.493 on the 3.667-kilometre circuit, Preining put the number 91 car on the grid in sixth position as the best Porsche. With his teammate Dennis Olsen in tenth place, both cars started the inaugural DTM race from the top ten. Within the first thirty minutes, the drivers worked their way up the field, placing the 911s in fifth (No. 91) and eighth (No. 90) position at times. However, during the pit stops at the halfway point of the one-hour long run, both Porsche 911 GT3 R cars encountered problems that cost the team important seconds. As a result, Olsen and Preining took the chequered flag in tenth and eleventh place.

The second day of racing started off under better conditions for Manthey EMA: Thomas Preining secured pole position with a time of 1:21.347. Dennis Olsen, in fifth place, also improved on his qualifying result from the previous day. The pole setter defended his position for most of the race, even through two safety car periods, and set the pace at the front. However, a rule infringement during the pit stop of the Grello Porsche meant that it had to complete a penalty lap with eight laps to go and consequently lost the lead. In the end, this meant third place and the first podium finish for Manthey EMA. Norwegian Dennis Olsen was also able to keep his place at the front of the field and finished the weekend’s final race as fourth.

Manthey EMA is in the front ranks in both team and driver standings, with 40 points and third place as well as positions four (Thomas Preining) and seven (Dennis Olsen).

The DTM season continues in three weeks at the Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands from 23 to 25 June.

Quotes on the DTM season opener at Oschersleben:

Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director Manthey Racing GmbH: "We had everything in our hands this weekend and then gave it away through our own fault. It's tough because it was just a matter of details, but it's very demanding here when you're racing at the front. Every little thing can be decisive. The positive thing is: we are among the front players. Now we have to sit down as a team and think about how we can secure these details and bring everything together. With the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring, the test at Spa and the DTM opener, we've had a tough programme, which is no excuse but certainly contributed to the result."

Dennis Olsen, Porsche 911 GT3 R #90: "After a tricky qualifying and a slight mistake at the pit stop we finished tenth in the first race. Looking at the data and our approach for the weekend paid off and we improved to fifth on Sunday. I had a good start and fought my way up to second place but had to give up that position and finished fourth. We can be happy with the race and the top-four finish. The team did a good job today and recovered really well from yesterday, which is also important - it's a big part of the mental game. I think we have the strongest package overall and the best crew, so we will definitely work hard and get ready for the next race."

Thomas Preining, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: "It wasn't an easy weekend. Today we had the race in our hands from the start. Everything worked well and the pace was great. The car was really world-class today and we made good steps over the weekend. I'm proud of the whole team, everyone did a great job. The penalty was annoying, but that's part of it. We bounced back well after a difficult Saturday, and we'll do the same at Zandvoort."

Team standings after 2 of 16 rounds: