Lukas Stiefelhagen seizes early championship lead at Oschersleben
NXT Gen Cup continued to deliver tight and competitive electric racing on Sunday alongside DTM at Motorsport Arena Oschersleben. A win for Lukas Stiefelhagen and a maiden victory for Julian Würtele meant that the opening weekend of the 2025 season produced four different winners across four races.
After claiming a win and a podium finish on Saturday, Austrian Philipp Dietrich continued his strong form by securing pole position in his bright yellow #71 Varta car for the third race of the weekend, 0.226 seconds ahead of German driver Maxim Dacher in the #67 Ehrl sponsored car.
Race 3 provided exactly the kind of action NXT Gen Cup has been known for since its inaugural season in 2023. Under sunny skies, a five-way fight unfolded at the front. As the laps wound down, it became a straight duel between Stiefelhagen and Dietrich, with the Dutchman ultimately crossing the finish line to claim the first win of his 2025 campaign.
The reversed-grid Race 4 saw another entertaining showdown. From P3 on the grid, series newcomer Julian Würtele got a perfect launch at the start, storming into Turn 1 in his Hankook-shod LRT NXT1 #7 and exiting Turn 2 in the lead. The German quickly built a gap to the rest of the field—a margin that continued to grow, aided by the fierce battles for position behind him.
At the checkered flag, Würtele claimed his first NXT Gen Cup victory, finishing 4.173 seconds clear of the next car, setting a new record for the largest winning margin in series history—a testament to how closely matched the field usually is in the all-electric NXT Gen Cup.
“Incredible—it’s just amazing. I arrived late, missed FP1, and now I’m standing on the top step of the podium. The race itself was a bit lonely. I got a good start, used push-to-pass to get ahead, and then just focused on my pace. Hopefully, we can grab more podiums—and maybe another win—at Norisring,” said Julian Würtele.
Behind Würtele, Lennart Wolf in the #22 STFG sponsored car managed to fend off a hard-charging Lukas Stiefelhagen to secure a much-anticipated podium finish on home soil.
“It feels great to achieve this at my home track. I gave it everything I had, and it was a good race. Julian pulled away at the start and was too far ahead, but I had some hard fights with Lukas for second place. I hope I can keep this momentum going,” said Wolf.
Latvian racer Patricija Stalidzane also showed strong pace in the #4 Mechanum car, qualifying P3 on Sunday morning. However, an unfortunate technical issue forced her to miss Race 3. Starting from P18 on the grid in Race 4, she stormed through the field to finish ninth. Stalidzane currently sits seventh in the standings—a result that does not fully reflect the speed she showed this weekend.
As the championship stands after the first race weekend of the season, Lukas Stiefelhagen holds a narrow four-point lead over Philipp Dietrich.
“I’m happy with the weekend overall, especially leading the championship going into Norisring. Of course, I won there last year—but I also made some mistakes—so we’ll see. The field is really strong this year, so it’s going to be close,” said Lukas Stiefelhagen.
Next stop on the NXT Gen Cup calendar is the iconic Norisring street circuit, where the series will race alongside DTM from 4–6 July.
2025 NXT Gen Cup Calendar
25-27 April - Oschersleben - Germany
04-06 July - Norisring - Germany
08-10 August - Nürburgring - Germany
22-24 August - Sachsenring - Germany
19-20 September - Swedish Junior Championship - Mantorp Park – Sweden
About NXT Gen Cup
The NXT Gen Cup is the world’s first 100% electric junior touring car cup where young female and male drivers race the LRT NXT1, a fully electric race car based on the MINI Cooper SE road car - engineered and built by Lestrup Racing Team. The series races together with DTM and is organized through an “arrive and drive” concept, enabling the junior drivers to focus on driving and creating the foundation for a professional racing career.
About DTM
DTM is Europe’s premier and best-known racing series and celebrated its 40th birthday in 2024. As one of the most competitive racing series, DTM features seven prestigious brands in its anniversary season. The DTM has a German core, but a strong international fan base. Races are broadcasted live in 150 territories. The series is also a leader in sustainable motorsport. For the second season, all cars are powered by a sustainable fuel made of 50% renewable components. Not only the cars racing in DTM are in the centre of sustainable projects. For the events itself the ADAC as promoter of the DTM offers innovations like an initiative to reduce plastic waste and a digital carpool solution, which has been recognised and awarded by the FIA.