Ben Dörr sets the fastest time at the final official test of the 2026 DTM season at Hockenheim – Comtoyou leaves out both its regular drivers
Following his victory in Sunday’s race at the Sachsenring, Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren) underlined his good form again on Wednesday at the final official test of the 2026 DTM season at the Hockenheimring. With a time of 1:37.118 minutes, Dörr set the fastest time in the dress rehearsal for the season finale (9–11 October).
Dörr was 0.127 seconds faster than Matteo Cairoli (Emil-Frey-Ferrari), third fastest was Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW), 0.150 seconds behind, followed by Thierry Vermeulen (Emil Frey Ferrari, +0.161) and Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford, +0.202).
In ideal weather conditions with sunshine and afternoon temperatures of 22 degrees Celsius, a total of 18 drivers made the most of the nearly seven hours of track time to fine-tune their cars’ set-up ahead of the season finale. However, not all regular drivers from the 2026 DTM season were in action.
Comtoyou fields Formula 1 reserve driver
Surprisingly, Comtoyou did not field Nicki Thiim and Nicolas Baert at the test. Instead, Baert’s car was driven by junior driver Jak Crawford, who has previously competed in formula racing and is currently a Formula 1 reserve driver for Aston Martin.
” “We are using today’s test to get to know Jak better with a view to our DTM plans for 2027,” explains Mario Schuhbauer, Comtoyou’s DTM director. “As an Aston Martin Formula 1 reserve driver, he brings an interesting background to the table, and we are looking forward to giving him the opportunity to test our DTM car.”
“As we are deliberately focusing on this driver assessment today, we are fielding just one car and using our other resources for different tasks. That is why Nicki and Nico are not taking part today,” Schuhbauer continued. The young American improved as the day went on, but was the slowest of the 18 drivers, finishing 1.413 seconds off the pace.
Why Gounon and Glock did not take part in the test
Winward driver Jules Gounon also did not take part in the test. The Frenchman is racing 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.
Although the 29-year-old German has not yet competed in the DTM, he is very familiar with the Mercedes-AMG GT3 and the Winward team. In May this year, he won the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring alongside Maro Engel, amongst other achievements.
The Dörr team took part in the test with just one car, as Timo Glock had already travelled to Baku for the Formula 1 race as part of his role as a TV pundit. Abt driver Marco Mapelli was also absent; only Luca Engstler was in action for the Lamborghini team from Kempten.
Of the drivers with realistic chances of winning the DTM title, Wittmann was the third-fastest. Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) improved to eighth place (+0.364) in the afternoon, having completed just seven laps in the morning, after which his car underwent extensive work. Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche), the clear championship leader, set the twelfth-fastest time (+0.476).
Times: DTM test at Hockenheim
01. Ben Dörr (Dörr-McLaren) – 1:37.118 minutes (55 laps)
02. Matteo Cairoli (Emil Frey-Ferrari) +0.127 seconds (47)
03. Marco Wittmann (Schubert-BMW) +0.150 (56)
04. Thierry Vermeulen (Emil Frey-Ferrari) +0.161 (52)
5th Arjun Maini (HRT-Ford) +0.202 (62)
6th Fabian Schiller (Winward-Mercedes) +0.245 (55)
7th Kelvin van der Linde (Schubert-BMW) +0.340 (56)
8th. Maro Engel (Winward-Mercedes) +0.364 (30)
9th. Finn Wiebelhaus (HRT-Ford) +0.406 (62)
10th. Luca Engstler (Abt-Lamborghini) +0.437 (59)
11. Mirko Bortolotti (Grasser-Lamborghini) +0.444 (40)
12. Thomas Preining (Manthey-Porsche) +0.476 (62)
13. Maximilian Paul (Grasser-Lamborghini) +0.483 (39)
14. Ricardo Feller (Manthey-Porsche) +0.508 (65)
15. Lucas Auer (Landgraf-Mercedes) +0.570 (43)
16. Tom Kalender (Landgraf-Mercedes) +0.646 (51)
17. Bastian Buus (Land-Porsche) +1.025 (54)
18. Jak Crawford (Comtoyou-Aston Martin) +1.413 (63)