Porsche at DTM opener

Porsche will start the 2026 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters opener with three 911 GT3 R cars at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. (newsroom.porsche.com) The season begins April 24-26 in Spielberg, and Porsche’s lineup is split between two customer teams: Land-Motorsport with one car and Manthey with two. (newsroom.porsche.com) Land-Motorsport’s new Porsche entry goes to 22-year-old Dane Bastian Buus, the 2023 Porsche Supercup champion, who is making his DTM debut. Manthey will run Austrian Thomas Preining and Swiss driver Ricardo Feller. (newsroom.porsche.com) The Red Bull Ring opener brings 21 cars from eight manufacturers, according to Porsche and DTM. DTM said the 2026 field includes drivers from 11 countries and marks the first time in the series’ more than 40-year history that the season starts in Austria. (newsroom.porsche.com) (dtm.com) DTM is Germany’s top GT-style touring car series, and its current grid is built around production-based race cars such as the 911 GT3 R rather than the Class 1 machines the championship used before 2021. Porsche competes through customer teams instead of a factory works squad. (dtm.com) (newsroom.porsche.com) The Porsche count is down from 2025, when Manthey alone entered three 911 GT3 R cars in DTM. For 2026, Manthey returns with two new 565-horsepower 911 GT3 R Evo cars, while Land-Motorsport switches from Audi machinery to Porsche. (newsroom.porsche.com) (dtm.com) (land-motorsport.de) That change reshapes two teams at once. Manthey keeps Preining, the 2023 DTM champion, and adds Feller, while Land-Motorsport starts its first DTM season with a Porsche after winning at Spielberg in 2025 with Feller in an Audi R8. (dtm.com) (newsroom.porsche.com) The opener also sets the first reference point for Porsche’s 75th motorsport anniversary season. Practice starts on April 24, qualifying and Race 1 are on April 25, and Race 2 closes the weekend on April 26. (newsroom.porsche.com) (dtm.com)