After his win in Sunday’s race at the Sachsenring, Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren) underlined his strong form again on Wednesday in the final official test of the 2026 DTM season at the Hockenheimring. Dörr set the fastest time, a 1:37.118, in the dress rehearsal for the season finale (October 9 to 11).
Dörr was 0.127 seconds faster than Matteo Cairoli (Emil-Frey-Ferrari), with Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) third-fastest, 0.150 seconds adrift, followed by Thierry Vermeulen (Emil-Frey-Ferrari, +0.161) and Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford, +0.202).
In optimal weather conditions, with sunshine and temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius in the afternoon, a total of 18 drivers used the almost seven hours of track time to fine-tune the cars’ set-ups ahead of the season finale. However, not all regular drivers from the 2026 DTM season were in action.
Comtoyou gives Formula 1 reserve driver a run
Surprisingly, Comtoyou did not take part in the test with Nicki Thiim and Nicolas Baert. Instead, junior driver Jak Crawford, who has so far been active in single-seaters and is currently a Formula 1 reserve driver with Aston Martin, drove Baert’s car.
“We are using today’s test to get to know Jak better with regard to our DTM plans for 2027,” Comtoyou’s DTM boss Mario Schuhbauer explains when asked by Motorsport-Total.com. “As an Aston Martin Formula 1 reserve driver, he brings an interesting background, and we are looking forward to giving him the opportunity to test our DTM car.”
Jak Crawford fuhr den einzigen Aston Martin von Comtoyou
Foto: ADAC Motorsport
“Because we are deliberately focusing on this driver evaluation today, we are running only one car and using our other resources for other tasks. That’s why Nicki and Nico are not in action today,” Schuhbauer continued. The young American improved over the course of the day, but was the slowest of the 18 drivers, 1.413 seconds off the pace.
Why Gounon and Glock did not test
Winward driver Jules Gounon also did not take part in the test. The Frenchman is in action for Alpine in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Fuji in Japan this weekend. He was replaced by Fabian Schiller, who set the sixth-fastest time.
The 29-year-old German has not yet raced in the DTM, but knows the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the Winward team well. In May this year he won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring together with Maro Engel.
The Dörr squad took part in the test with only one car, as Timo Glock had already travelled to the Formula 1 race in Baku as part of his role as a TV pundit. Abt driver Marco Mapelli was also absent, with only Luca Engstler in action for the Lamborghini team from Kempten.
Of the drivers with realistic chances of the DTM title, Wittmann was the fastest in third. Engel (Winward-Mercedes) improved to eighth in the afternoon (+0.364), while Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche), who has a clear lead in the championship, set the 12th-fastest time (+0.476).
DTM test times Hockenheim
01. Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren) – 1:37.118 minutes
02. Matteo Cairoli (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) +0.127 seconds
03. Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) +0.150
04. Thierry Vermeulen (Emil-Frey-Ferrari) +0.161
05. Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford) +0.202
06. Fabian Schiller (Winward-Mercedes) +0.245
07. Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert-BMW) +0.340
08. Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) +0.364
09. Finn Wiebelhaus (HRT-Ford) +0.406
10. Luca Engstler (Abt-Lamborghini) +0.437
11. Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser-Lamborghini) +0.444
12. Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) +0.476
13. Maximilian Paul (Grasser-Lamborghini) +0.483
14. Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche) +0.508
15. Lucas Auer (Landgraf-Mercedes) +0.570
16. Tom Kalender (Landgraf-Mercedes) +0.646
17. Bastian Buus (Land-Porsche) +1.025
18. Jak Crawford (Comtoyou-Aston-Martin) +1.413
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: motorsport.com
