Hockenheim was the venue for the opening two races of the DTM Esports season for 2026, with the top 20 from the online season having their points reset for a one-night, four-race championship to decide the title.
Tim Jarschel got off to the best start, taking pole with the very last lap of the opening qualifying session of the day.
On the opening lap of the race, Jarschel was able to hold his lead and extend it when Alessandro Ottaviani battled with and overtook Nikodem Wisniewski for second. The German completely dominated the race, taking the win by three seconds, and the full 40 points along with it.
And he’d take pole for race two as well; an extraordinarily quick lap to begin the session couldn’t be beaten by anyone, putting him in prime position to win again. Ottaviani and Wisniewski were close by in second and third again, but instead of working together against their common opponent, Jarschel, they fought hard again for second.
Jarschel’s winning margin was even larger than in race one, undoubtedly giving him the upper hand over the others in the championship. Ottaviani would beat Wisniewski in his fight for second, but nevertheless started the Nürburgring races 12 points behind the championship leader.
Qualifying was more open throughout the Nürburgring races, as proven by Caique Oliveira, who took pole for race three. Ottaviani qualified down in seventh, and knew into the turn one hairpin that he had to make up places, creating a four-wide moment on the first lap, the most memorable moment of the night.
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