In a race punctuated by crashes and Safety Car entries, the two Red Bull Alphatauri AF Corse-run Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020s were forced to withdraw early at the Norisring, once again postponing their date with victory in the DTM.
On a circuit that clearly does not bring much luck for Maranello machinery, qualifying had however produced an excellent third place for Ayhancan Guven and twelfth for Felipe Fraga. The first corner, which last year had deprived Liam Lawson of any chance of becoming champion, again turned out to be a trap in Race 1 in which several drivers got caught and would eventually prove decisive for the two Ferraris. Felipe Fraga’s car, eleventh, having survived the first lap chaos which prompted the first Safety Car, was rear-ended on the right-hand side at the restart and was forced to retire. Guven's Ferrari, meanwhile, collided with a Mercedes after the third Safety Car entrance, causing damage to his Ferrari that the mechanics were unable to repair.
The race, won by the Porsche of Austrian Thomas Preining, also saw many of the frontrunners in the standings eliminated, preventing any breakaways. Tomorrow, the start of the second and final race of the fourth round of the 2022 DTM will once again get underway at 13:30 local time.