With no radio and a Mercedes-AMG armada around him, Bernhard-Porsche driver Thomas Preining fought his way to another podium on Spa Sunday
Thomas Preining is the man of the DTM weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. And not only because of his mega-save in Eau Rouge/Raidillon at the start to Saturday’s race. With 32 points, the Bernhard-Porsche driver collected the most points in the entire field in Belgium. And that under unfavourable conditions.
“To be honest, it was chaotic again at first. Starting from P7 wasn’t easy, but we managed to keep pretty much out of harm’s way. Unfortunately, we basically had no radio for the whole race,” admits Preining after the race on Spa Sunday. “That’s why I had to pit on my own, which is very challenging. “
“I didn’t really know what strategy my engineers had in mind. So I had to figure it out myself. Fortunately, it worked out well. And the stop was good too, so thanks to my guys.” It helped Preining that the guys in Porsche legend Timo Bernhard’s team were already partly prepared anyway.
Preining and Bernhard team: agreements in the grid
And of course there were first internal discussions already on the grid, so Preining didn’t quite catch his boys on the wrong foot. “Before the race you talk to the engineers about the strategy. You always have something in mind that you talked about,” the Austrian explained afterwards.
But in his case, Preining reacted spontaneously: “There is always the option to do the opposite of the car in front. When I got stuck at that moment, I just came in one lap after the Mercedes in front of me. Luckily the crew was reasonably prepared and the stop was pretty quick too. “
For Preining, that was the spark for a race to catch up, which took him past the three Mercedes-AMGs of Mikael Grenier, Maximilian Götz and, last but not least, Lucas Auer. Against the latter, it became tight on the approach to the Eau Rouge, as it had been on Saturday.
The “Mercedes Magnet” at Spa-Francorchamps
But this time Auer pulled away and there was no collision. “I think I am a Mercedes magnet. Today it felt like I was just fighting with them,” Preining joked after the race. “I talked to Lucas in the grid about what happened yesterday and I’m happy that we fought ‘fair and square’ today.”
“And of course I’m even happier that I held my own.” Not backing down is one of the principles of racing for Preining anyway, especially in a series like the DTM: “At this level, there is no room for hesitation. For sure, yesterday’s moment will stay with me forever,” he says.
“But today during the race there was no reason to falter when the podium is within reach.” And the excellent haul in Belgium means the title of best Porsche driver this season is still within reach too: Preining, now seventh overall, is just two positions and six points behind brand-mate Dennis Olsen.
