Thomas Preining (born 21 July 1998) is an Austrian racing driver. He is a Porsche factory driver, and competes in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Manthey Racing.
A Porsche protégé since 2017, Preining broke through in DTM, where he has raced since 2022. He was DTM champion in 2023 for Manthey Racing, and won the 24 Hours of Spa and 12 Hours of Sebring in 2026. Preining has also been a test driver for Porsche's Formula E and LMDh efforts.
Career
Karting Preining began karting on a holiday in Mallorca at the age of seven. A mainstay of Rotax Max Challenge competitions from 2009 through 2015, he won five international karting titles, most notably the 2013 SKUSA SuperNationals and the 2014 RMC Euro Trophy at Rotax Junior level. Having alternated karting and Formula 4 in early 2015, the loss of a sponsor effectively put Preining's career on hold. Reflecting on it years later, he described it as "a defining time" where he "learned a lot about myself".
Formula 4 Preining's first season in single seaters was in 2015 with German team ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg where he competed at the first two rounds in the ADAC Formula 4 Championship where he got a podium in only his third race at this level at Oschersleben. Preining finished the season with 16 points. Preining competed in another F4 championship in 2015 where he raced at the first round in the Italian F4 Championship at Vallelunga with German team Mücke Motorsport. His best finish was tenth.
In 2016, Preining returned to the ADAC F4 grid for the full season but this time racing for Austrian team Lechner Racing. Preining would go on to finished the season with two wins and a further four podiums, this helped him to fourth in the championship with 180.5 points. Championship winner, Joey Mawson, finished 193.5 points ahead of Preining. Like with the German championship, Preining returned to race in the Italian F4 Championship in 2016. He only competed one round and his best result was 12th.
Porsche Carrera Cup Germany
In 2017, Preining made the switch from single seater to Sports car where he competed in the 2017 Porsche Carrera Cup in Germany racing for Konrad Motorsport. Preining won two races meaning he finished five points behind Christian Engelhart in seventh. Preining made the switch to his former team Lechner Racing for 2018 where he dominated the season, winning ten of fourteen races and only failing to finish on the podium twice. He won the championship by 37 points over Michael Ammermüller.
Formula E Due to Preining's affiliation with Porsche, their Formula E team offered him a drive in the 2020 Rookie test at Marrakech. He partnered experienced French driver Frédéric Makowiecki. Preining's fastest time 1:19.374, which was almost three seconds slower than Nick Cassidy's fastest time of a 1:16.467.
In May 2024, Preining would again drive for Porsche in the Rookie Test at Berlin. Just a year later on February, Preining returned to Formula E during the 2025 Jeddah ePrix rookie practice session with Porsche.
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
In December 2021, it was confirmed that Preining would race full-time in the 2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters by driving the only Porsche 911 GT3 R car fielded by KÜS Team Bernhard. In the first race of the fourth round at the Norisring, Preining scored his first win in the DTM, which was also the first win for a Porsche car in the series. His second win in the DTM came in the second race of the seventh round at the Red Bull Ring, which saw him starting from seventh position and making several overtakes on a wet track, before being able to maintain the lead as the track began to dry. Ahead of the eighth and final round at the Hockenheimring, Preining was one of the five drivers who had a chance of winning the championship title. However, he was in one of the cars that were involved in a major crash during the Saturday race. Although he was able to extract himself from his badly damaged car, the doctors eventually declared him unfit to participate in the Sunday race. This left him in fifth place in the drivers' standings, with a total of 116 points.
In 2023, Preining returned to the series for a second consecutive season, moving to fellow Porsche outfit Manthey EMA. In addition, Preining competed in the 2023 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup with Rutronik Racing, sharing a Pro class entry with Laurin Heinrich and DTM teammate Dennis Olsen.
Racing record
Career summary Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position 2015 ADAC Formula 4 Championship ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg 6 0 0 0 1 16 21st Italian F4 Championship Mücke Motorsport 3 0 0 0 0 0 29th 2016 ADAC Formula 4 Championship Lechner Racing 24 2 2 0 6 180.5 4th Italian F4 Championship 3 0 0 0 0 0 37th 2017 Porsche GT3 Cup Brasil - Endurance 1 0 0 0 0 29 23rd Porsche Supercup Walter Lechner Racing Team 4 0 0 0 0 22 19th Porsche Carrera Cup Germany Konrad Motorsport 14 1 0 0 2 130 7th 2018 Porsche Supercup Lechner Racing 10 4 3 3 5 135 3rd Porsche Carrera Cup Germany 14 10 11 11 12 279 1st 24H GT Series - 911 Fach Auto Tech 1 0 0 1 1 ? ? 2018–19 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Gulf Racing UK 5 0 0 3 0 53 11th 2019 International GT Open Frikadelli Racing 2 0 0 0 0 0 NC† European Le Mans Series - LMGTE Proton Competition 3 1 1 2 1 32 10th ADAC GT Masters Precote Herberth Motorsport 14 1 0 0 1 79 13th 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Frikadelli Racing Team10000N/ADNF 2019–20 FIA World Endurance Championship - LMGTE Am Dempsey-Proton Racing 5 0 0 0 0 12.5 15th Formula E TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E TeamTest/Development driver 2020 Intercontinental GT Challenge Absolute Racing 1 0 0 0 0 8 17th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup GPX Racing40110330th 2021 ADAC GT Masters KÜS Team Bernhard1400027413th 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP9 Falken Motorsports10000N/A9th 2022 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters KÜS Team Bernhard 15 2 0 1 4 116 5th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Dinamic Motorsport 1 0 0 0 0 6 28th Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9200000NC† 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP910000N/ADNF 2023 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Manthey EMA 16 3 3 2 8 246 1st Nürburgring Endurance Series - SP9200000NC† 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP910000N/ADNF Intercontinental GT Challenge 1 0 0 0 1 30 15th Rutronik Racing 1 0 0 0 0 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup 5 0 0 1 1 38 7th FIA GT World Cup HubAuto Racing10000N/A15th 2024 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Manthey EMA 16 1 1 1 3 158 5th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 2 0 0 1 2 0 NC† Intercontinental GT Challenge 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP910001N/A 2nd IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Andretti Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 239 58th GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Phantom Global Racing10000427th FIA GT World Cup Origine Motorsport10000N/A15th2025 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters Manthey EMA 16 2 0 4 5 182 4th Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP910101N/A 2nd Middle East Trophy - GT3 Pure Rxcing GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup500000NC IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Proton Competition 1 0 0 0 0 227 37th 2026 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Manthey Racing 4 1 0 1 1 1169 13thDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters 14 2 2 1 7 197 1st*GT World Challenge Europe Endurance CupLionspeed GPNürburgring Langstrecken-Serie - SP9Manthey Racing EMA 24 Hours of Nürburgring - SP910000N/ADNFEuropean Le Mans Series - LMGT3High Class Racing 1 0 0 0 0 4 16th* † As Preining was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.* Season still in progress.
Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Pos Points 2015 ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg OSC11 OSC12 OSC13 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 LAU1 LAU2 LAU3 NÜR1 NÜR2 NÜR3 SAC1 SAC2 SAC3 OSC21 OSC22 OSC23 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 21st 16 2016 Lechner Racing OSC11 OSC12 OSC13 SAC1 SAC2 SAC3 LAU1 LAU2 LAU3 OSC21 OSC22 OSC23 RBR1<br/ > RBR2<br/ > RBR3<br/ > NÜR1 NÜR2 NÜR3 ZAN1 ZAN2 ZAN3 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 4th 180.5
Complete Porsche Supercup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Points 2017 Walter Lechner Racing Team CAT CAT MON RBR SIL HUN SPA SPA MNZ MEX MEX 19th 22 2018 BWT Lechner Racing CAT MON RBR SIL HOC HUN SPA MNZ MEX MEX 3rd 135 † As Preining was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Rank Points 2018–19 Gulf Racing UK LMGTE Am Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 SPA LMS SIL FUJ SHA SEB SPA LMS 11th 53 2019–20 Dempsey-Proton Racing LMGTE Am Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 SIL FUJ SHA BHR COA SPA LMS BHR 25th 12.5
Complete European Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2019 Proton Competition LMGTE Porsche 911 RSR Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 LEC MNZ CAT SIL SPA ALG 10th 35 2026 High Class Racing LMGT3 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) Porsche 4.2 L Flat-6 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 28th* 4*
Complete ADAC GT Masters results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 DC Points 2019 Precote Herberth Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R OSC1 OSC2 MST1 MST2 RBR1 RBR2 ZAN1 ZAN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HOC1 HOC2 SAC1 SAC2 13th 79 2021 KÜS Team Bernhard Porsche 911 GT3 R OSC1 OSC2 RBR1 RBR2 ZAN1 ZAN2 LAU1 LAU2 SAC1 SAC2 HOC1 HOC2 NÜR1 NÜR2 13th 74
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2019 Gulf Racing Ben Barker Michael Wainwright Porsche 911 RSR GTEAm 331 38th 8th 2020 Dempsey-Proton Racing Dominique Bastien Adrien de Leener Porsche 911 RSR GTEAm 238 NC NC
Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2019 Frikadelli Racing Team Klaus Abbelen Alexander Müller Robert Renauer Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) SP9 135 DNF DNF 2021 Falken Motorsports Lance David Arnold Klaus Bachler Dirk Werner Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) SP9 59 9th 9th 2022 Dinamic Motorsport Matteo Cairoli Christian Engelhart Côme Ledogar Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) SP9Pro 11 DNF DNF 2023 Manthey EMA Michael Christensen Kévin Estre Frédéric Makowiecki Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) SP9Pro 62 DNF DNF 2024 Manthey EMA Kévin Estre Ayhancan Güven Laurens Vanthoor Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) SP9Pro 50 2nd 2nd 2025 Manthey EMA Kévin Estre Ayhancan Güven Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) SP9Pro 141 2nd 2nd 2026 Manthey Racing Matt Campbell Kévin Estre Ayhancan Güven Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) SP9Pro 24 DNF DNF
Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results Year Team Co-drivers Car Class Laps 2020 Absolute Racing Matteo Cairoli Dirk Werner Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) AP 314 7th 7th2023 Manthey Racing / EMA Motorsport Matt Campbell Mathieu Jaminet Porsche 911 GT3 R (991.2) Pro 323 2nd 2nd
Complete GT World Challenge Europe results GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos. Points 2020 GPX Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Pro IMO NÜR SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H LEC 30th 3 2022 Dinamic Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R Pro IMO LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H HOC CAT 28th 6 2023 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Pro MNZ LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR CAT 7th 38 2024 Phantom Global Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Pro LEC SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜRMNZ JED 27th 4 2025 Pure Rxcing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Pro LEC MNZ SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR CAT NC 0 2026 Lionspeed GP Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2) Pro LEC MNZ SPA6H SPA12H SPA24H NÜR ALG 5th* 30*
Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)