Mixed start to the DTM Season for Emil Frey Racing in Oschersleben

📌 Fast Facts 📌

Emil Frey Racing had a mixed weekend at the DTM season opener in Oschersleben. Ben Green impressed with pole position on his DTM debut, but was subsequently disqualified from qualifying, but then showed a strong fightback. Jack Aitken and Thierry Vermeulen finished sixth and 13th in the first race. In the second DTM race, with two pit stop windows for the first time, Thierry Vermeulen qualified third but dropped back in the race. In the end, the Emil Frey Racing drivers finished 13th to 15th.

Race 1 – Saturday, 26th April 2025
Ben Green sensationally secured Pole Position in his first DTM qualifying session. Due to a team error, the prescribed minimum weight on his #10 Ferrari 296 GT3 was not adhered to and the Brit was subsequently disqualified. Ben Green therefore had to start the race from the back of the field. 

Undeterred by this, however, Ben Green showed a strong fight back. Alongside René Rast in the BMW, he was the last car in the field to come in for the pitstop. He then fought his way through the field with spectacular battles, impressively proving his talent and his place in the Top-class championship.

Jack Aitken, last year's winner at Oschersleben, qualified in a good sixth place in the #14 Ferrari and maintained this position in the race with a solid and consistent performance. Team-mate Thierry Vermeulen started from 14th on the grid and crossed the finishing line in 13^th place in his #69 Ferrari after a solid race.

Race 2 – Sunday, 27th April 2025
The second race of the weekend marked a premiere in the DTM, as the new format seeing two pitstop windows was introduced for the first time. In qualifying, Verstappen.com Racing protégé Thierry Vermeulen put in a strong performance with P3 on the grid. His team-mates Ben Green and Jack Aitken qualified eleventh and 19th respectively.

In the race, Ben Green in the #10 Ferrari came in early for his first pitstop, closely followed by Jack Aitken, who was able to skillfully avoid several cars driving across after a turbulent start. Thierry Vermeulen was one of the last drivers to complete his first pitstop.

In the second pitstop window, in which the drivers had to complete their mandatory stop within six minutes, things did not go as planned for Emil Frey Racing. After his second stop, Thierry Vermeulen lost a battle for position due to the still cold tyres and dropped out of the Top-10 after a trip into the gravel.

In the end, the three Emil Frey Racing Ferraris finished 13th to 15th - a result that fell short of the team's expectations. Emil Frey Racing will continue next week: the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup starts the new season at Brands Hatch.

TEAM QUOTES - Emil Frey Racing
Lorenz Frey-Hilti, Team Principal 
"Unfortunately, the DTM season opener was not a good weekend for us. The disqualification of Ben Green after securing Pole Position was very annoying, mistakes like that shouldn't happen to us. Fortunately, Jack Aitken still had a solid race on Saturday. On Sunday, Thierry Vermeulen had a good starting position, which he unfortunately couldn't turn into a good result. In general, we had problems with the outlaps, because we weren't strong enough with the cold tyres. The slower pitstops also cost us a lot of positions."

Jürg Flach, Technical Director
"Basically, we had a competitive car, as Ben Green and Thierry Vermeulen showed in qualifying, but we were unable to make the necessary profit from it. We have to analyse everything meticulously and learn our lessons, especially to improve our racing ability in traffic."

DRIVER QUOTES - Emil Frey Racing 
Jack Aitken (Great Britain)
"The first race wasn't bad, as we scored solid points. But we didn't manage to find a good direction with the car and suffered a lot in qualifying on Sunday. Starting from the back is never easy at Oschersleben, as overtaking is very difficult, but we made great progress and scored a few points in the end. We will analyse this and come back stronger next time."

Thierry Vermeulen (The Netherlands)
"It was a weekend full of ups and downs. We got the maximum out of the car in the first race, and I drove a solid race. Our aim was to qualify better for Sunday, and we managed to do that. I would like to thank the team for their great work overnight. The car was very strong, but I made a few mistakes during the race, and it was generally difficult for me. I still have a lot of work to do to improve and also to work with the team to make the most out the package and do a better job overall."

Ben Green (Great Britain)
"I am so happy to be driving in the DTM. It was a total rollercoaster ride on my first weekend in this series. The highlight was driving the best time in the first qualifying session, but unfortunately, I then had to start from the back of the grid in the race. On Sunday, qualifying was more difficult, and the second race was very aggressive because I started from midfield. I'm taking a lot of experience and lessons with me from this weekend and am looking forward to the Lausitzring."