Wittmann finishes third in 2026 DTM standings as Preining takes the title at Hockenheim
Marco Wittmann ended his 2026 DTM season third overall at the Hockenheim finale, adding a Saturday podium but falling short of a third title as Porsche's Thomas Preining took the crown.
- 198
- 96
- 284
- 16
What Happened
Marco Wittmann (GER) finished the 2026 DTM season third overall, driving the #11 Schaeffler BMW M4 GT3 EVO for Schubert Motorsport. At the Hockenheim finale he took third place in Saturday's race and seventh in the second race, lacking the pace to hold off new champion Thomas Preining (AUT, Porsche) and runner-up Maro Engel (GER, Mercedes). Across 16 races Wittmann won at the Nürburgring and the Sachsenring and added one second and four third places, closing the year on 198 points. Schubert Motorsport finished third in the team standings with 284 points.
198
Third place in the 2026 DTM drivers' standings after 16 races, with two wins and five further podiums.
- 3rd overall, 198 points, 2 wins
- 14th overall, 96 points, 1 win
- 3rd, 284 points
Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) could not shake off the bad luck that dogged much of his season, even on the final weekend. He finished sixth in Saturday's race at Hockenheim, then dropped to 18th in the second race after an early collision and problems during the pit stops. In his first DTM season as a BMW M works driver he took one victory and 96 points, ending 14th in the drivers' standings.
- ADAC BMW M2 Cup: Michael Schrey and Hofor Racing by Bonk Motorsport clinched the title in the one-make cup's debut season, helped by seven victories in the eight races before the finale.
- Final M2 Cup races were won by Farin Megger (Riller & Schnauck powered by Cerny Motorsport) and by Niklas Hirsch, Schrey's team-mate; Christopher Holst (SUI) of Team ME Motorsport was crowned Rookie Champion.
- ADAC GT Masters: Tim Zimmermann (GER) and Leyton Fourie (RSA) in the #11 BMW M4 GT3 EVO took sixth and second places but finished second overall, losing their narrow lead; FK Performance Motorsport did win the team title.
- ADAC GT4 Germany: Benjamin Sylvestersson (FIN) and Gabriele Piana (ITA) fell four points short of the title, taking a win, a third place and a fourth place in the #51 BMW M4 GT4 EVO over the final weekend.
“I feel sorry for Kelvin van der Linde. He had an unfortunate final race and, generally speaking, an unfortunate season. But he, too, put in some strong performances. Congratulations to Thomas Preining, and Porsche on their well-deserved title win. We are determined to come back next season and fight for the title once again.”
“When you're still in with a chance of winning the title going into the final round, but then don't have the tools to fight at the very front on the decisive weekend, it's naturally disappointing. Nevertheless, third place in the overall standings is a good result when you consider where we've come from this season.”
Why this matters
The DTM finale decides the championship, and BMW leaves Hockenheim with third places rather than titles, as Thomas Preining of Porsche took the crown. It matters to BMW M Motorsport, its drivers and its customer teams, and to anyone following BMW's works effort across the DTM, the ADAC GT Masters, the ADAC GT4 Germany and the new ADAC BMW M2 Cup.
Terms in This Story
- DTM
- A German touring car racing series in which manufacturers and teams field high-performance race cars over a season of rounds.
- GT3
- A racing category for production-based grand tourer cars built to a shared technical rulebook, used in series such as the DTM.
- one-make cup
- A race series in which every competitor drives the same model of car, so results depend mainly on driving and setup rather than the machine.
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