After the disappointment in the season opener, “Grello” driver Thomas Preining was back in full force in the Lausitz, even though the requested BoP change did not come: This is how he explains the DTM miracle
First flop, then suddenly top! Porsche’s champion team Manthey EMA and champion Thomas Preining managed to bounce back with a win and third place at the last DTM weekend at the Lausitzring after the completely botched season opener in Oschersleben. And this despite the fact that the Balance of Performance (BoP) was not changed despite Manthey-EMA’s efforts in the run-up to the event
But how does Preining explain the turnaround that stunned the paddock? “It’s a combination of two things,” “On the one hand, we had the opportunity to learn from it all after Oschersleben. It’s no secret that we have to drive differently with the ride height than before,” he says.
Preining is alluding to the change in ground clearance stipulated by the Balance of Performance, which has forced Manthey EMA to drive five millimeters higher on the front axle since this season. And which the team identified as the main reason for the Oschersleben weakness
Preining: Lausitzring test as the key
“We had a whole day at the Lausitzring test to think about things and try to improve,” explains Preining, who can’t say what really made the difference, “because I’m not an engineer. But it will be a combination of little things that make a big difference in the end, both in terms of drivability and performance.”
In fact, the squad invested one of the limited DTM test days with both drivers a week before the race weekend at the Lausitzring – and the Austrian was 0.121 seconds behind Maro Engel in second place in the final standings
At the Lausitzring “better prepared than ever before “
But the “Grello” driver sees another reason: “The second point is that we were better prepared than ever before – also in terms of driving. Last year, we had two test days at the Lausitzring, the Thursday test and the race weekend. Now we had another test. I knew right from the start what my task was and how I could move the car as quickly as possible.”
Preining is referring in particular to the battle for grid positions, which is so important in the DTM, where he took pole on Sunday and finished second on Saturday. “We have invested a lot of time in driver preparation. So that we know what we have to do to get a fast qualifying lap. “
This is anything but easy, especially at the Lausitzring, because the track invites driving errors. “It may not look like it, but this is probably the most technical track on the calendar,” says Preining.
Despite victory: Preining still sees disadvantage due to ground clearance
In any case, the preparation paid off. “The car drove like it was on rails,” he says. “My laps, both on Saturday and Sunday, were spot on. That’s a much easier starting position in the race when you start from the front row twice.”
This was also shown by the weekend of his team-mate Ayhancan Güven, who only finished 15th and eleventh at the Lausitzring after starting fourth and fifth on the grid and fought with blunt weapons in the duels because he lacked performance on the straights. The greater ground clearance that they are forced to use this season also plays a role.
“We don’t have the same downforce level as before, we can’t possibly generate that,” says Preining. “And we certainly have more air resistance when driving straight ahead. But in the end, we have found a solution for the Lausitzring that will still allow us to deliver the best possible performance. And of course I hope that we can take this with us for the rest of the season,” he says with a view to the upcoming Zandvoort weekend.
