Emil Frey Racing celebrates DTM win at Lausitzring and championship lead through Matteo Cairoli

Fast Facts – The Press Bulletin
The third DTM weekend of the 2026 season at the Lausitzring brought Emil Frey Racing a weekend of contrasts – and ultimately a major success. The first race on Saturday, marked by extreme heat and a sudden downpour, ended disappointingly for Thierry Vermeulen after a post-race penalty cost him valuable points. On Sunday, however, the team turned things around: Matteo Cairoli fought his way to his second win of the season in the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo, taking over the lead in the DTM Drivers' Championship in the process. Thierry Vermeulen rounded off the weekend with P14 in the second race. In front of around 56,000 spectators in the Niederlausitz region, Emil Frey Racing once again showed its strong side, helped by consistently solid pitstop work.

Press release
The third round of the 2026 DTM season took Emil Frey Racing to German soil for the first time this year, at the Lausitzring. Amid tropical heat and a weekend full of weather twists, Emil Frey Racing delivered strong performances and ultimately secured both a race win and the lead in the DTM Drivers' Championship.

Race 1 – Saturday, 20^th June 2026
Qualifying for the first of the two DTM races at the Lausitzring took place in extreme heat. Matteo Cairoli secured P7 on the grid, while Thierry Vermeulen started from P13.

Shortly before the start, heavy rain set in, turning the Lausitzring into a demanding wet-weather battle – drivers and cars were already thoroughly soaked on the grid. The race therefore began with a slight delay, opening with two laps behind the Safety Car. Matteo Cairoli, who started the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo on wet tyres, worked his way forward early and was running as high as P6 at one stage, before another Safety Car period – triggered by a Porsche stuck in the gravel trap – interrupted proceedings once again. The race distance was subsequently reset to 55 minutes plus three laps. At the restart, Matteo Cairoli moved up to third place.

The Zandvoort winner, Matteo Cairoli, was among the first to pit and was serviced in 6.5 seconds. Thierry Vermeulen, on the other hand, stayed out until the last possible window: the undercut worked, and Thierry Vermeulen's #69 Ferrari found itself in a strong sixth place.

In the closing minutes, Thierry Vermeulen came under increasing pressure from two Mercedes-AMG drivers, Lucas Auer (#22) and Jules Gounon (#48), but defended his position successfully and crossed the line in seventh. A penalty handed down after the race, however, dropped the Dutchman to P13. Matteo Cairoli added further championship points with P8.

Race 2 – Sunday, 21^st June 2026
Qualifying for the second race at the Lausitzring also took place in great heat. Matteo Cairoli secured a front-row start in P2, while team-mate Thierry Vermeulen started from P15. Both drivers held their positions after the start, but debris on track triggered a Safety Car period after lap two. Following the restart, Matteo Cairoli fought a close battle for second place with Nicki Thiim's Aston Martin (#7), while Thierry Vermeulen steadily worked his way forward.

In the first round of pitstops, Matteo Cairoli was among the first to come in, with Thierry Vermeulen following shortly after – the then-leader Arjun Maini stayed out the longest. The #14 Ferrari driver set the fastest lap of the race after his stop and took over the lead once the stop cycle concluded, after the Emil Frey Racing crew was once again significantly quicker than Maini's team, completing the stop in 7.1 seconds against Maini's 9.3. Ford driver Maini nonetheless remained the closest challenger at the front, edging up to within a hair of Matteo Cairoli in second place.

As the second round of pitstops began, Thierry Vermeulen again came in first. Following another strong pitstop from the Emil Frey Racing crew, Matteo Cairoli was able to maintain the lead with a comfortable margin.

The Italian's advantage in the #14 Ferrari, at one point 2.5 seconds, narrowed steadily in the closing stages: Nicki Thiim, on noticeably fresher tyres – Matteo Cairoli's set was by then around ten laps older – was visibly quicker. In the end, however, Matteo Cairoli held firm and celebrated his second win of the season, taking over the championship lead in the process – all without a single sip to drink despite the extreme heat. Thierry Vermeulen finished the race in P14.

TEAM QUOTES– Emil Frey Racing

Lorenz Frey-Hilti, Team Principal 
"What a finish to this scorching weekend. The Aston Martins and Fords were extremely strong, but Matteo Cairoli was able to cross the finish line first after a tough fight. Thierry Vermeulen had a bit of bad luck this weekend – if you end up too far back in qualifying in DTM, it's very difficult in the race. Then there was the penalty on Saturday after the race, which wiped out a good points result. But we are very satisfied and are already looking forward to the Norisring, where we'll aim to come back well prepared and on the attack."

Jürg Flach, Technical Director 
"On Saturday, Thierry Vermeulen started on slicks in the wet, so he had no fresh tyres left for today. Unfortunately, qualifying didn't go as he'd hoped, so starting from P15 in this heat made things very difficult! I'm very happy that today, with Matteo Cairoli, a good strategy and a strong setup, we were able to deliver a sensational result!"

DRIVER QUOTES – Emil Frey Racing

Matteo Cairoli (Italy) 
"It was a truly intense race – I think the most intense in terms of pressure from the competition that I've had so far. The battle with Nicki Thiim was really great, but at one point I felt like everything was working against me: the temperature in the car, the brakes, everything! I gave everything to avoid making mistakes, and we were rewarded with our second win of the year, which gives the whole team an extra boost of motivation."

Thierry Vermeulen (Netherlands) 
"We had a really strong car all weekend, and on Saturday we made a big step forward with a strong strategy on slicks. However, I was given a penalty afterwards for contact during the race and lost a lot of points. The car was good in qualifying on Sunday, but my performance wasn't quite there – with such tight margins, you end up far down the order. Congratulations to the team and to Matteo for the strong win. It just shows that all the hard work is paying off and we're on a really good path." 

ABOUT EMIL FREY RACING 

Emil Frey Racing is a storied Swiss motorsport team based in Safenwil. Founded in the 1960s on the foundations of the Emil Frey Group, the team can look back on decades of motorsport experience, ranging from single-seater and rally racing to long-distance GT series. Today, Emil Frey Racing competes internationally, currently in both the DTM and the GT World Challenge with the Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

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