• Thomas Preining finishes fourth and sixth at the Sachsenring and moves up to fifth place in the drivers' standings
• Ayhancan Güven suffers an unfortunate tyre puncture in Saturday's race and finishes 13th in race two
• In both races, the team not only manages the two fastest tyre changes, but also the fastest of the current season so far with 6.336 seconds

Hohenstein-Ernstthal. In high summer temperatures at the Sachsenring, Manthey EMA scored three points-scoring results in DTM races eleven and twelve. Thomas Preining (Austria) crossed the finish line in fourth place in Sunday's race after finishing sixth in race one. This was his 28th consecutive race in the points since the start of the 2023 DTM season. Ayhancan Güven (Turkey) suffered an unfortunate puncture in Saturday's race and finished 13th on Sunday. For the two fastest tyre changes in both races, the team receives a total of six points at the Sachsenring and takes the lead in the pit stop standings (22 points). The fastest pit stop in Saturday's race was also the fastest of the current season with 6.336 seconds.

Thomas Preining started the first race at the 3.645-kilometre Sachsenring from sixth place. The Austrian had previously set the fastest lap of the session in qualifying, but was moved back five positions on the grid due to a penalty imposed at the Nürburgring. Ayhancan Güven started the race from 17th on the grid. During the start phase and after contact with another car, Preining lost two positions and came into the pits in eighth place immediately after the pit stop window opened. After improving by one position with the fastest tyre change of the season, the Austrian battled for a long time with the car with starting number 3 (Kelvin van der Linde) for sixth place. Finally, 13 minutes before the end of the race, he managed to pull away from van der Linde (#3) with an overtaking manoeuvre and crossed the finish line in sixth place. Meanwhile, Ayhancan Güven was able to make up four positions by the time the pit stop window opened and finish in the points. After his strong pit stop, he found himself in 12th place, which he maintained until shortly before the end of the race. However, a slow puncture forced the Turkish driver to retire his Porsche 911 GT3 R one and a half minutes before the end of the race. 

Both Manthey EMA drivers finished the second qualifying session of the weekend in the top ten with positions six (#91) and nine (#90). In eighth place after the first third of the race, the starting number 91 headed for the pit lane to change tyres on the second lap after the pit stop window opened and made up three places with this strategy and the fastest tyre change of the race. Team-mate Güven came into the pits in 10th place with 34 minutes remaining and completed the good intermediate result after the tyre change with ninth place. A collision during the 20-minute pit stop window led to a safety car period. After the restart, with 19 minutes left on the clock, Preining made up another position with a remarkable manoeuvre and crossed the finish line in fourth place, adding thirteen points to his championship tally. Güven crossed the finish line in eighth place. Due to a 15-second penalty imposed after the race for a collision with start number 19 (Luca Engstler), he officially finished the race in thirteenth place and receives three championship points. 

“First and foremost, I am very proud of the fact that we were able to achieve the two fastest pit stops of the race twice this weekend. That is really something special and I am very grateful to the entire crew for their hard work time and time again. We also performed strategically at the highest level again in both races and were able to make up places as a result, as we almost always do. The results do not fully reflect the great performance at the moment, but I am convinced that we will soon be at the front again,’ explains Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey Racing GmbH.
 

In the DTM drivers' standings, both drivers made up one place each at the Sachsenring. While Thomas Preining is now in fifth place with 119 points, Ayhancan Güven is in 16th place with 32 points. In the team standings, Manthey EMA is in seventh place after the sixth round of the season (155 points). 

In three weeks' time, the DTM will return to the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg for the penultimate race weekend of the season from 27 to 29 September 2024.
 

Quotes on the DTM races at the Sachsenring:

Ayhancan Güven, Porsche 911 GT3 R #90: "Unfortunately, the weekend got off to a difficult start as I was unable to finish Friday's practice session due to technical difficulties. My qualifying session on Saturday didn't go well, but I was able to make up a few places in the race and I'm happy with that. The tyre failure just before the end was very unfortunate. We then made a good comeback in qualifying on Sunday with ninth place. The start didn't go so well with a contact, but I was able to move up to eighth place again thanks to the super strategy. Due to the penalty, I ended up in 13th place. Now I'm looking ahead to the weekend at the Red Bull Ring.“

Thomas Preining, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91: „It was an exhausting weekend for us, which got off to a great start with the pole lap on Saturday. Due to the penalty from the last race, we were only able to start from sixth place and finished sixth. The team once again pulled off some great pit stops - the two fastest of the race - and the strategy was also superb. We had a bit of bad luck in qualifying on Sunday, but nevertheless, sixth place was a much better starting position than we've had this season. The race was a rollercoaster of emotions. After a bad start, I lost places, but with a great strategy and once again the two fastest pit stops of the day, I moved up to fifth place. After the safety car restart, I was able to overtake Engel, but unfortunately the pace wasn't quite good enough for more overtakes. But I'm still satisfied that we're closer and can drive a little further up the field.”
 

Results DTM race 1 at the Sachsenring:

6. Thomas Preining, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91
DNF. Ayhancan Güven, Porsche 911 GT3 R #90

Results DTM race 1 at the Sachsenring:

4. Thomas Preining, Porsche 911 GT3 R #91
13. Ayhancan Güven, Porsche 911 GT3 R #90

DTM calendar 2024:
26.04. – 28.04.2024 Motorsport Arena Oschersleben
24.05. – 26.05.2024 DEKRA Lausitzring
07.06. – 09.06.2024 Circuit Zandvoort / NL
05.07. – 07.07.2024 Norisring
16.08. – 18.08.2024 Nürburgring
06.09. – 08.09.2024 Sachsenring
27.09. – 29.09.2024 Red Bull Ring / A
18.10. – 20.10.2024 Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg