Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde took the lead within the championship due to his victory within the penultimate DTM race in 2024 at Hockenheim, while Mirko Bortolotti could only save fifth place.
Starting from pole position, van der Linde was capable of overtake Winward Mercedes driver Lucas Auer to take his third victory of the season, breaking a 12-point deficit on Bortolotti for a two-point advantage heading into Sunday's title decider.
Ayanchan Guven accomplished the rostrum for Manthey EMA Porsche, while Auer's teammate Maro Engel kept his championship hopes alive by ending fourth ahead of SSR Lamborghini rival Bortolotti.
At the beginning of the race, van der Linde easily took pole position, while Auer consolidated his position in second place after securing his first front-row start within the DTM since 2022.
Bortolotti and Engel qualified out of position in seventh and ninth place respectively, but each were capable of improve their rankings on the primary lap, moving as much as fourth and fifth place behind Guven.
When the pit window opened after 20 minutes, Engel immediately entered the pit lane, and Winward sent him back after servicing the automotive in only six seconds.
Bortolotti followed him on the subsequent lap, but a slow stop of 8.2 seconds, ending with a slow change of the left front tire, left him defenseless against his Mercedes rival.
Mirko Bortolotti, SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracán EVO GT3
Photo: Alexander Trienitz
Although the Italian managed to get back on target on the front despite the delay, Engel had already warmed up his tires to the precise temperature and overtook him in turn eight, taking him fourth place.
At the tip of the identical lap, van der Linde finally pitted and moved away from the race leader, and Auer, who had been on his tail in the course of the first stint, covered him the subsequent time.
Winward's decision to delay Auer's pitstop initially appeared to repay as he returned to the track in front, but a lap later the Abt driver was capable of pass him in Turn 2 to revive the established order.
The Austrian kept the pressure on van der Linde for the remainder of the race, with each drivers making contact on the hairpin on lap 30.
Ultimately, van der Linde was capable of do enough to fend off his Mercedes rival, taking the checkered flag by 0.508s, putting him in prime position to win the 2024 DTM title in Sunday's final.
Guven had a lone race en path to third place within the leading Porsche, while Engel overtook Bortolotti and was 20 points behind van der Linde within the championship standings.
Jules Gounon, replacing Luca Stolz at HRT Mercedes, quickly caught up with Bortolotti within the closing stages of the race, but ultimately needed to accept sixth place on his DTM debut.
The best Schubert BMW driver on Saturday was Rene Rast, who finished seventh, ahead of HRT driver Arjun Maini and teammate Marco Wittmann. Nicki Thiim finished in the highest ten within the SSR Performance rankings.
The only person to retire from the race was Emil Frey Ferrari's Jack Aitken as 19 of the 20 drivers made it to the finish.
