Having wrapped up the title with three bonus points in qualifying earlier on Sunday morning, Preining led nearly the entirety of the race from pole position to complete a perfect weekend at the 4.5km (2.79-mile) circuit.
Much like Saturday, the Manthey EMA driver made a perfect start to lead the field into Turn 1, even as SSR Performance’s Mirko Bortolotti and Schubert BMW’s Sheldon van der Linde kept the pressure up on him.
On lap three, the safety car was deployed when Christian Engelhart crashed his Grasser Lamborghini at the entry to the hairpin after making contact with the Project 1 BMW of Marco Wittmann.
This neutralised the field and gave Bortolotti and van der Linde a sniff at the lead, but Preining managed to dissipate the threat from the duo to maintain the status quo at the front.
Van der Linde was the first of the trio to pit on lap 14, with Bortolotti and then Preining following the South African on the next two tours.
Preining’s lead stood at under a second before the pitstop cycle but he rejoined the track with his advantage over Bortolotti doubled, as van der Linde lost a few positions on cold tyres.
This should have given Preining a clear track in front of him, but Rene Rast threw a spanner in the works by pitting on lap 18 and taking the lead of the race with the overcut.
However, the Schubert BMW driver’s celebrations were short-lived as he struggled on cold tyres and slumped to fourth on his outlap, re-establishing Preining’s advantage.
Source: Autosport