After eight rollercoaster rounds, Thomas Preining secured the 2026 DTM championship - his second drivers’ title - and Manthey’s third Teams’ championship in four years.
The 2023 drivers’ champion took his second title in style, with two wins and a further six podiums in 16 races securing him the championship.
Porsche factory driver
The 28-year-old was crowned champion with a 12-point margin, after finishing third in the final race at the Hockenheimring.
It was another stellar season for his team, too, with Manthey celebrating its third victory in the team standings in four years.
With another DTM season complete, we look back on the milestones which led to another successful year:
Starting in style: Winning Race 1
Preining kicked off the season in style, winning the very first race at the season opener at the Red Bull Ring.
Starting from third on the grid, the Austrian secured victory in the first of 16 races this season.
It marked his ninth DTM win, and his second home victory in the championship. It was also his seventh win with Manthey in the championship as the team and driver entered their fourth season of collaboration.
Though Sunday was a tougher outing, with Preining finishing 13th, he still scored valuable points for the championship.
After the race, he said: ”Looking back on the weekend, the joy of Saturday outweighs everything else. I was able to win my home race, and that’s just something very special. I’ll always cherish this memory, and I’m very happy that I was able to experience it together with my team.
“The crew did such a great job in the pit lane again. Without their strong performance, I wouldn’t be able to achieve such results on the track, and I’m very grateful for that.
“Unfortunately, the starting positions made things very difficult on Sunday, and the result is naturally unsatisfactory. But the fact that we were still able to score three points is important, and now I’m already looking forward to Zandvoort."
Maximising chances: Consistency is key
Though the next three race weekends failed to yield a podium, Preining’s results were consistently strong, and he finished outside the top 10 just once.
Heading to the Netherlands, Preining finished seventh and eighth in the pair of races at Circuit Zandvoort.
Starting from tenth on the grid, he moved up to seventh place on Saturday, and also took home points on Sunday with an eighth-place finish. He left Zandvoort fourth in the standings, with 46 points.
The championship then headed to Germany for the first time, with the Lausitzring event marking round three of eight.
It was another challenging weekend for Preining, but he finished inside the points in both races to take 10 points from the weekend. This put him seventh in the standings with 56 points.
This weekend also marked team-mate Ricardo Feller’s first podium finish with Manthey, fighting his way up to third after starting in 16th place.
He said: “It’s great to have secured my first podium finish with Manthey and Porsche. Of course, we had a bit of luck, but you’ve got to take that as it comes, and at the end of the day, it’s valuable points for the championship.
“Generally speaking, we’re growing closer and closer as a team and it’s great fun working together.”
The Norisring round marked the halfway point of the season, and Manthey took four points finishes. Preining was ninth in both races, while team-mate Feller was 12th on both occasions.
The turning point: Victory at Oschersleben
The next round at Oschersleben marked a huge turning point in the season, and put Preining firmly on-track to the title.
Starting from pole position in both races, a win in Race 1 and a second-place finish in Race 2 rocketed Preining back to fourth in the standings, just 29-points behind the leader with six races remaining.
The fantastic weekend, which also saw Feller continue his unbroken streak of points finishes from the start of the season, also boosted Manthey to second in the Teams’ standings.
Speaking after the weekend, Preining said: “It was a brilliant weekend for us in Oschersleben. The best weekend of the season so far. A huge thank you goes to the team. My car was perfect right from the start, and Saturday was truly a perfect day.”
Podiums aplenty: Strong rounds at the Nürburgring and Sachsenring
With just three rounds remaining, the chase for the title was on, and Preining put in another stellar performance in both races at the Nürburgring to further boost his position.
A second-place finish in Race 1, backed up with a third-place finish in Race 2, rocketed him to second in the standings - just one point behind the leader.
In front of the team’s home crowd, Preining was able to capitalise on his rivals’ retirements with brilliant strategy and pit stops from the team to maximise a great weekend.
He did the same at the following outing at the Sachsenring, scoring two more podiums to hand him the championship lead for the first time.
After finishing third in Saturday’s race, Preining took second place on Sunday, extending his run of podium finishes since Oschersleben to six races in a row.
The strong results saw him take the lead by six points on Saturday and extending that to 23 points ahead of the season finale at Hockenheim.
Feller completed a double podium for Manthey in Sunday’s race, which gave Manthey a 20-point lead in the Teams’ Championship with one round remaining.
Patrick Arkenau, Director Racing at Manthey Racing, said the weekend was “a rollercoaster ride with a very positive outcome for us.”
He said: “We were able to continue our run of podium finishes with Thomas and also celebrate a double podium. That’s an incredible result and the outcome of a strong team performance, which is reflected in the championship standings.
“Both races at the Sachsenring were at times turbulent and thrilling – definitely a great spectacle for all the fans and excellent publicity for the DTM.”
Crowning glory: The final round in Hockenheim
It all came down to the final round, and Preining finished the season in style with a podium finish to round off a great campaign.
After finishing fifth on Saturday to give him a 20-point lead for the final race, the Austrian was crowned champion after a third-place finish in the final race.
He started seventh before a fierce battle between the title rivals, split by just a few tenths at times.
Both Feller and Preining delivered exceptionally under pressure, and went on to cross the line in second and third respectively.
Speaking after the final race, Preining said it would “probably take some time before this really sinks in.”
He continued: “This title means an incredible amount to me. Winning the DTM is something special, but winning it for a second time is almost impossible to put into words. That's exactly why I made a conscious effort going into this weekend to experience and enjoy a potential title win more than the first one.
“The entire weekend was mentally extremely demanding. There was a lot of time between qualifying and the races to think about everything that could still happen. But in the end, we kept our composure as a team and executed our job perfectly.
“This success is the result of hard work, immense passion and an exceptional team spirit throughout the entire season. I am incredibly proud to celebrate this title once again together with Manthey.”
Top teamwork: Manthey secures another Teams’ Championship
This season marked another incredible effort from the whole Manthey team, which won the DTM Teams' Championship for the third time in four years.
With Preining’s championship win and with team-mate Feller consistently in the points places and scoring three podiums in his first year with the team, it was truly a collective effort. The title was won by 46 points, with Manthey securing the crown ahead of Schubert Motorsport and Winward Racing.
Speaking after the final round, Nicolas Raeder, Managing Director of Manthey Racing, said: "I am almost lost for words when it comes to describing this extraordinary achievement by the entire team. Winning both the Drivers' and Teams' Championships for the third time in four years is an incredible accomplishment.
“The DTM is one of the most competitive sprint racing championships in international motorsport, which makes celebrating another double championship even more special. This success is the result of hard work, tremendous passion and the relentless commitment of every single team member.
“I am immensely grateful and proud that we are able to celebrate this achievement in our 30th anniversary year. Following our first championship success together in 2023, I am particularly pleased to see Thomas rewarded with another drivers' title after delivering such consistently strong performances over the past years.
“Ricardo has also impressed in his first season with Manthey and made a decisive contribution to this success by scoring points in every race of the season. That is anything but a given.
“Winning the Teams' Championship while also securing the Drivers' title with Thomas is the deserved reward for an outstanding season and a success we have achieved together with our partners.”
