Breakthrough at the Nürburgring: Emil Frey Racing Triumphs with Historic DTM One-Two Victory

📌 Fast Facts 📌 

The curse of the Eifel has been broken: Emil Frey Racing achieved a major breakthrough at the start of the second half of the DTM season with its first double victory in the DTM. Jack Aitken won the turbulent ninth race of the season and took the lead in the overall standings, while DTM newcomer Ben Green celebrated his maiden podium finish in second place. Ferrari's strength had already been evident in qualifying, when three Emil Frey cars took the top four starting positions. Even though Sunday was a day to forget, the team is going into the next DTM race in two weeks at the Sachsenring feeling stronger.

Race 1 – Saturday, 09th August 2025
The opening race of the second half of the DTM season at the Nürburgring marked a turning point for Emil Frey Racing. Historically challenged at this circuit, the Swiss team finally overcame its struggles and broke the "Eifel curse" during the fifth round of the championship.

In qualifying, Emil Frey Racing showcased outstanding pace: Jack Aitken secured his third pole position of the season, closely followed by teammate Thierry Vermeulen in second place, with Ben Green completing the team’s strong showing with fourth on the grid.

The ninth race of the season started turbulently. Pole-sitter Jack Aitken led the field cleanly, while Thierry Vermeulen suffered a poor start, dropping several positions. In the second lap, Thierry Vermeulen was forced off the track by Maro Engel in the #24 Mercedes-AMG, pushing him down to twentieth place.

Multiple collisions in the chaotic opening stages prompted race officials to red-flag and temporarily halt the race. After the restart, Jack Aitken maintained the lead, with Ben Green skilfully moving up to second place in the first corner.

Following the pitstops, Jack Aitken came under pressure from Ricardo Feller in the #29 Audi, who briefly took the lead. A thrilling multi-car battle for victory unfolded in front of packed grandstands, with four cars fighting wheel-to-wheel. While Jack Aitken waited for his opportunity in second, Ben Green, after his pitstop, dropped to fourth place.

In lap 29, Jack Aitken made a decisive move to reclaim the lead. Shortly afterward, Ben Green seized his chance as well—after securing third place from Marco Wittmann, he overtook Ricardo Feller’s Audi to climb to second.

The result was historic: Emil Frey Racing claimed its first-ever one-two finish in DTM. Jack Aitken took over the lead in the drivers’ championship for the first time, while Rookie Ben Green celebrated his maiden podium, adding the finishing touch to a landmark achievement. The Swiss team finally enjoyed its long-awaited moment of triumph at the Nürburgring after years of disappointment.

Race 2 – Sunday, 10th August 2025
The contrast could not have been greater: On Sunday, a completely different picture emerged for Emil Frey Racing. Championship leader Jack Aitken had to settle for starting from 16th place, with Ben Green following in 17th. Only Thierry Vermeulen managed to break into the Top 10 with tenth position.

During the race, Jack Aitken fought his way up to 15th after the first pitstop and then overtook Morris Schurig’s Porsche for 14th place. This was followed by an internal team duel between Jack Aitken and Thierry Vermeulen, before the Brit suffered a major setback: Ricardo Feller spun the championship leader off the track in a collision, sending him far down the order.

Ben Green battled forward until the end and put Mirko Bortolotti in the Lamborghini under pressure, managing to finish 15th and scoring a single point—the only one for the team on Sunday after Saturday’s high. Jack Aitken now sits second in the drivers’ championship standings, eight points behind the leader, Lucas Auer in the Mercedes-AMG.

TEAM QUOTES - Emil Frey Racing
Lorenz Frey-Hilti, Team Principal 
“Saturday was simply sensational, of course it was a shame for Thierry after the strong starting position from P2. But the double victory from Jack and Ben on Saturday was really outstanding. It was clear that on Sunday we would be fighting with blunt weapons. The qualifying, with the reduced performance, became a huge challenge, and we just couldn’t position ourselves well enough. Then in the race, unfortunately, Jack’s accident was added to the mix. It’s a real pity—on the other hand, we had a fantastic Saturday. We were the only team to test at the Nürburgring, which makes it all the more bitter to be held back so much after such a good result on Saturday. You end up just running and are powerless. The frustration is naturally there, but now we just have to look ahead to the next races.”

Jürg Flach, Technical Director
“We arrived here very well prepared with a good set-up, as we tested just two weeks ago. As a result, we were immediately very competitive. The excellent qualifying performance underlined this. Despite the BoP adjustment for the first race, we managed to secure a double victory with a strong performance from Jack and Ben. After a further BoP adjustment and a less than ideal second qualifying, we started today’s race from positions 10, 16, and 22 – which inevitably led to a disappointing race result. We’ll take the positives with us to the test and race at the Sachsenring. Congratulations to the whole team for the tremendous success on Saturday!”

DRIVER QUOTES - Emil Frey Racing 
Jack Aitken (Great Britain)
“It was a bit of an unbalanced weekend, but the team made fantastic use of the pace we had on Saturday and achieved a one-two finish. I was really happy to see Ben on the podium with me. It was disappointing, however, that all the Ferraris had such big problems on Sunday, even though we could have scored a few more points if it weren’t for the spin.”

Thierry Vermeulen (The Netherlands)
“It was a difficult weekend for me. First my poor start on Saturday, where I lost many positions, and then being forced off in the middle sector. Very unfortunate, and I’m really sorry for the team.”

Ben Green (Great Britain)
“I’ve been working towards this moment for a long time. You could already see in qualifying that our car was really strong. We showed that in the race as well. My move on Marco Wittmann was spectacular, when we went side by side through the chicane. Our cars touched, but from my point of view, that’s part of DTM.”