Emil Frey Racing defies weather chaos at the DTM round at Sachsenring and stays in the championship fight

Fast Facts – The Press Bulletin
A weekend of highs and lows awaited Emil Frey Racing at the penultimate DTM round at the Sachsenring. On Saturday, the team lacked the outright pace of the frontrunners, with Matteo Cairoli and Thierry Vermeulen crossing the line in sixth and ninth. Sunday, however, delivered dramatic racing: Despite difficult starting positions following a wet qualifying session, both drivers delivered strong comeback drives. Matteo Cairoli came home fourth after an impressive performance, while Thierry Vermeulen finished seventh. The title fight remains alive heading into the season finale at Hockenheim: with a 47-point deficit in both the Drivers' and Teams' Championships, a Top-3 finish is still within reach.

Press Release
The Sachsenring hosted the penultimate round of the 2026 DTM season this weekend, and Emil Frey Racing experienced two very different race days.

Race 1 – Saturday, 12th September 2026
In qualifying for the first race at the Sachsenring, Matteo Cairoli secured sixth place on the grid in the #14 Ferrari 296 GT3, with teammate Thierry Vermeulen lining up directly behind him in the #69 Ferrari in eighth position.

Matteo Cairoli made a strong start and moved up to third place by the second corner. Thierry Vermeulen also gained positions and settled into seventh. In the battle for second place with Kelvin van der Linde in the #3 BMW, Matteo Cairoli lost ground and dropped back to fifth just a few corners later. An early Safety Car interrupted proceedings after Bastian Buus in the #29 Porsche became beached in the gravel. At that point, Matteo Cairoli was running fifth, Thierry Vermeulen sixth. The race distance was reset to 55 minutes plus three laps.

At the restart, Matteo Cairoli held fifth place directly behind Thomas Preining in the #91 Porsche, whom he began to put under increasing pressure. Thierry Vermeulen held sixth but lost a position to Maro Engel in the #80 Mercedes and dropped to seventh.

When the pitstop window opened, Thierry Vermeulen was the first of the two Emil Frey Racing Ferraris to come in and was serviced in 6.9 seconds. Matteo Cairoli followed a lap later with a 6.5-second stop. On the exit from the pitlane, the Italian narrowly lost the direct battle against Kelvin van der Linde in the #3 BMW, who was able to use the advantage of already warm tyres. After all pitstops were completed, Matteo Cairoli lay seventh, Thierry Vermeulen ninth.

Thierry Vermeulen then engaged in a fierce battle with Nicki Thiim in the #7 Aston Martin. With Thiim ahead of Matteo Cairoli in the championship standings, the duel carried additional significance. The Dutchman defended his position courageously for some time, but the Dane executed a determined overtaking manoeuvre around the inside to pass Thierry Vermeulen.

In the closing stages, Matteo Cairoli found himself caught between two rivals: losing ground to Maro Engel in the #80 Mercedes ahead, while Mirko Bortolotti in the #63 Lamborghini applied pressure from behind. Matteo Cairoli brought the #14 Ferrari home in sixth, while Thierry Vermeulen crossed the line in the #69 Ferrari in ninth.

Race 2 – Sunday, 13th September 2026
Qualifying for the second race took place in wet conditions and proved disappointing for Emil Frey Racing. Following penalties for several competitors, Matteo Cairoli and Thierry Vermeulen ultimately started from 14th and 15th. The race start was delayed by ten minutes, adding to the nerves on the grid with further rain showers possible.

At the start, the two Emil Frey Racing drivers had chosen contrasting tyre strategies: Thierry Vermeulen on wet tyres, Matteo Cairoli on slicks. Thierry Vermeulen worked his way up to third within the opening lap, while Matteo Cairoli had a frightening moment after contact and dropped well down the order, before fighting back to seventh on his slicks.

As the track dried, Thierry Vermeulen's wet tyres lost their effectiveness and he was among the first to pit, serviced in an excellent 5.9 seconds. Matteo Cairoli followed shortly after in 6.4 seconds and returned to the track as the first of the already-stopped drivers. What followed was an impressive charge: Matteo Cairoli set the fastest lap of the race on lap 11, took third from Ricardo Feller in the #90 Porsche and set his sights on Thomas Preining in the #91 Porsche. After the first round of pitstops, Matteo Cairoli lay fourth and Thierry Vermeulen seventh.

At the second pitstop, Thierry Vermeulen was serviced in 6.7 seconds, Matteo Cairoli in 7.7 seconds. With just under ten minutes of racing remaining, an accident between Nicki Thiim in the #7 Aston Martin and Jules Gounon in the #48 Mercedes triggered a Safety Car period. A brave overtaking attempt by Matteo Cairoli on Thomas Preining narrowly failed and cost him a position. A further spin from Kelvin van der Linde brought out yet another Safety Car, before the race came to a dramatic conclusion in a final all-or-nothing lap. Matteo Cairoli defended fourth place against Maro Engel in the #80 Mercedes and crossed the line in the #14 Ferrari in fourth. Thierry Vermeulen finished the race in seventh.

TEAM QUOTES – Emil Frey Racing

Lorenz Frey-Hilti, Team Principal
"Our chances of winning the overall championship title are admittedly not so strong anymore, but a Top-3 finish should still be possible. Anything can still happen and we will keep fighting until the very end. Saturday was a mediocre race, but Sunday can be described as a satisfying conclusion. Sunday's qualifying went against our expectations, and despite the difficult starting positions we did a good job. Thierry's aggressive strategy almost paid fully off. For Matteo it was the right call, and it was a shame that we ultimately lost the position to Ricardo Feller due to Thomas Preining's delayed restarts. On Saturday we were simply lacking the pace of the frontrunners, even if the red flag in qualifying did play into our hands."

Jürg Flach, Technical Director
"It was a difficult weekend for us. From the outset it was clear that we were not competitive enough, which made the results in Race 1 with sixth and ninth the maximum we could expect. Sunday's qualifying was a disappointment, as we were unable to position ourselves well in the wet conditions. In the race we chose different strategies, which led to a satisfying result in the end. The drivers and the team did a fantastic job!"

DRIVER QUOTES – Emil Frey Racing

Matteo Cairoli (Italy)
"In the end it turned out to be a positive weekend. We scored points, which is always good, but it is also a shame that we didn't manage to reach the podium. With only two laps to go it wasn't the ideal scenario, but I was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time. When you consider where we started from, I'm fairly satisfied. We have two more races, and I would love to reach the podium in both at Hockenheim. We will fight until the very last lap."

Thierry Vermeulen (Netherlands)
"The Sachsenring was a difficult weekend. In the first race we struggled a little with the balance and I didn't feel comfortable in the car. Qualifying for the second race wasn't good either, but the race itself was really very exciting. It certainly wasn't perfect from my side, but I tried to extract the maximum and stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, we lost another position at the end, but we scored points and I learned a lot again. These races are very important for my learning curve. We're now hoping for a podium in Hockenheim and looking forward to seeing what we can still achieve."

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.