Nicki Thiim (Aston Martin): Endurance champion sets his sights on the DTM title

Even half an hour after the podium ceremony, Nicki Thiim was still brimming with emotion. “Today really is a dream come true,” said the 37-year-old Dane on Saturday after the first race at the Norisring. “My father won here in a Mercedes, and now I’m right at the top,” he said proudly after securing Aston Martin’s first victory in the DTM, “it’s an honour, a fantastic feeling. Because the pressure here is immense on every single lap.”

On Sunday, he completed the Grand Slam: pole position again, another start-to-finish victory. And with that, he takes the lead in the championship at the halfway stage, nine points ahead of Maro Engel and eleven ahead of Lucas Auer, who have each driven their Mercedes cars onto the podium once.

When asked what tricks he had up his sleeve for the Norisring, Thiim replied with a laugh: “I’m not going to tell you that.” To which Saturday’s runner-up, Maro Engel, quipped: “I was following him in 2024 and now for almost the entire race. He’s very strong in turns one, two, three and four.” That’s all the Nuremberg circuit has to offer…

And suddenly, the endurance specialist is a title contender in a sprint series. Thiim last won a championship in 2013 in the Porsche Supercup, where he was entirely on his own (and that of his pit crew). But then came victories in the 24-hour classics: Le Mans (GT class), the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps. “It’s no secret that the DTM has always been the goal for me. We’re only halfway through the season, but a DTM title would be the perfect culmination of a GT career,” explains Thiim in an interview with SPEEDWEEK.

“I won’t be able to match Dad Kurt’s 19 DTM victories. But I’m proud that the second generation of Thiims is now right up there at the front,” added Nicki, who also won at Nuremberg (SSR-Lamborghini) in 2024. Even though Thiim competes in other series (GT World Challenge), his focus is entirely on the DTM.

Three years ago, he moved from Salzburg to Dubai. When the Iran war broke out in late winter and there were hardly any flights for some time, Thiim missed just one tyre test at Vallelunga. He had no trouble travelling to the media day at the Red Bull Ring and the season opener there. And he hopes that means he no longer has to worry about it – and can concentrate on the DTM title race.

“The whole weekend was like a dream. I never thought I’d leave Nuremberg as the leader,” he admitted on Sunday afternoon. “The strategy paid off, and the pit crew worked perfectly. Now we can relax and celebrate.”

Incidentally, Nicki Thiim (three race wins) is the fifth DTM winner from Denmark, following in the footsteps of his father Kurt (19), Tom Kristensen (4), Jan Magnussen (2) and Kris Nissen (1).