Porsche star Thomas Preining: Is the former champion tired of the DTM?

Thomas Preining’s season got off to a promising start with a home victory at the Red Bull Ring. Since then, however, the 2023 champion has struggled to scrape together points and no longer sees any chance of a title for himself or Manthey-Porsche. The Norisring, where Preining is almost accustomed to winning, proved a sobering experience for him; even after the BoP settings were adjusted for Sunday, nothing changed. Two ninth-place finishes fall short of Preining’s and Manthey’s expectations.

“I’m not enjoying the DTM at the moment. It doesn’t make sense anymore,” he stated. So what does the future hold for him? “My contract with Porsche expires at the end of the season. We’re obviously discussing the future, but I’ve got other options as well. Clearly, my first intention is to continue with Porsche. And above all, I feel very much at home at Manthey. After all, they’re the benchmark – by a huge margin the best team. That’s why it’s doubly and triply bitter if things don’t work out – even though we’re giving it our all, we’re a long way off the top.”

The 27-year-old from Linz adds: “I don’t have a timeline for finalising my racing future, but obviously, the sooner the better. I still need to take a close look at everything, especially whether the DTM still makes sense. Basically, everything Manthey does is interesting, including the WEC or racing in America. First of all, I need to see if I’m staying with Porsche.”

A week before Nuremberg, Preining was still on a high following his victory with his Porsche and DTM colleagues Riccardo Feller and Bastian Buus at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps. Looking back on that daring feat – from the pit lane to victory – he says that “there are quite a few amateurs racing at Spa as well. We knew we had a strong line-up and expected to make our way up the field bit by bit. Seen in that light, starting from the pit lane wasn’t a big deal. The important thing was to stay in the leading group. We reckoned we’d make it into the top 15 if there were no problems. If the pace is right and you don’t pick up any penalties, you can certainly aim for a top spot.” The line-up featuring the three DTM drivers had been planned well in advance.

“It’s a really cool achievement, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. After all, it was my first victory in a 24-hour race. But I learnt how many factors have to come together. This time, everything went to plan,” adds Preining. And he also admits: “I’m really enjoying the endurance races in the IMSA.” He’ll be on the starting grid at Road America in early August and at Road Atlanta in October. He also has two more races coming up in the GT World Challenge, at the Nürburgring and in Portimão.

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Is endurance racing Preining’s new calling? We’ll see…