Press release
Emil Frey Racing fights through a difficult weekend at the Norisring at the halfway point of the DTM season
Fast Facts – The Press Bulletin
Halfway through the DTM season at the shortest circuit on the calendar: Emil Frey Racing raced in the season´s seventh and eighth race at the 2.162-kilometre Norisring. Matteo Cairoli went into the weekend carrying 20 kilograms of success ballast in the #14 Ferrari from his victory at the Lausitzring. Thierry Vermeulen scored points in both races, finishing fifth on Saturday and sixth on Sunday. For Matteo Cairoli, the weekend proved to be difficult: After 11th place on Saturday, the Italian retired early following an incident in Sunday´s race and dropped to fourth in the drivers' standings.
Press Release
The Norisring brought both strong moments and bitter setbacks for Emil Frey Racing this weekend. Thierry Vermeulen scored reliably points in both races, while Matteo Cairoli was forced to leave valuable championship points on the table.
Race 1, Saturday, 4th July 2026
The seventh race of the DTM season at the Norisring also marked the halfway point of the championship. Thierry Vermeulen started the #69 Ferrari from ninth on the grid, while Matteo Cairoli lined up in P11 in the #14 Ferrari, carrying 20 kilograms of success ballast from his victory at the previous round at the Lausitzring.
Thierry Vermeulen made the most of the opening phase and immediately gained two positions. Following a brief Safety Car period, a compelling battle for sixth place developed at the restart, with Matteo Cairoli going wheel to wheel against the #91 Porsche of Thomas Preining. Emil Frey Racing was quick in the pitstop phase: Thierry Vermeulen completed his stop in 6.4 seconds, with Matteo Cairoli following in 6.9 seconds.
On lap 23, a serious accident between the #19 Lamborghini of Max Paul and the #3 BMW of Kelvin van der Linde brought out a red flag. At the restart with 20 minutes remaining, Thierry Vermeulen pushed forward and benefited in the closing stages when Thomas Preining dropped back with damage following contact. Thierry Vermeulen crossed the finishing line in fifth position, with Matteo Cairoli taking eleventh place.
Race 2, Sunday, 5th July 2026
For the second race on Sunday, Thierry Vermeulen qualified in eighth, Matteo Cairoli took 10th position. No sooner had the 19 cars taken the start than the Safety Car was deployed for one lap to clear debris from the circuit. Matteo Cairoli was placed under investigation immediately at the start, and a penalty lap for a jump start dropped him to the back of the field.
The weather then added further to the drama: With just under three minutes to go before the pitstop window opened, rain began to fall and no one wanted to be the first to react. But for Matteo Cairoli, the race was over before his first stop. At the entry to the hairpin, Marco Mapelli in the #10 Lamborghini ran into the #14 Ferrari, which in turn hit Mapelli's teammate Luca Engstler, a classic chain reaction that left Matteo Cairoli's rear wing damaged, meaning his end to the race. Following the serious accident at the same spot the day before, the race control once again opted for a red flag interruption.
At the restart with just over 42 minutes remaining, only Thierry Vermeulen remained to fly the flag for Emil Frey Racing. After his pitstop, Thierry Vermeulen found himself in sixth place, producing a strong battle for fifth with the #48 Mercedes of Jules Gounon. A second stop with a stationary time of over seven seconds cost valuable time and ultimately prevented a better result. Thierry Vermeulen crossed the line in sixth place, scoring points in both races at the Norisring.
For Matteo Cairoli, the Norisring weekend was a painful setback in the championship fight. After a difficult Saturday and an early retirement on Sunday, the Italian has dropped to fourth in the Drivers' standings.
For more information, please visit www.emilfreyracing.com.
TEAM QUOTES - Emil Frey Racing
Lorenz Frey-Hilti, Team Principal
"It was a very bitter weekend. Already in qualifying, where hundredths of a second make the difference, we simply did not have enough. Starting from the midfield at the Norisring is extremely difficult and always carries risks. Thierry did a solid job in both races and extracted the maximum. It was very unfortunate for Matteo: yesterday he was squeezed in at the start, today the accident was completely out of his hands. But we are far from giving up and we will come back fighting in the championship."
Jürg Flach, Technical Director
"All things considered, I would have wished for a better weekend. We were well prepared, but it was not enough to qualify better than eighth and tenth. Thierry's fifth and sixth place finishes are solid results after good races, while Matteo had a very unfortunate weekend and could only manage one classified finish with 11th place. Looking ahead, it is essential for both the drivers' and teams' championship that we bring both cars home in strong positions at the upcoming rounds."
DRIVER QUOTES - Emil Frey Racing
Matteo Cairoli (Italy)
"It was certainly a very unlucky weekend and not what I had hoped for. I also want to apologise to the team. I need to take a close look at the jump start penalty to understand what went wrong. After the penalty my pace was genuinely strong and I was able to make up good ground, which made the heavy hit from behind even more frustrating. This setback hurts, but it will not stop us. We will come back strong at the next round."
Thierry Vermeulen (Netherlands)
"I am very pleased with this weekend. I think we extracted the maximum both as a team and as a driver. The balance was there from the start, which built my confidence in the car lap by lap. On a circuit like the Norisring, that is anything but a given. After a more difficult spell recently, it is especially rewarding to have scored points on two consecutive days."
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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