Extreme heat at the start of DTM practice at the Nürburgring: In 36-degree air temperatures and with a forest fire not far from the Eifel circuit sending up a column of smoke, Porsche’s top team Manthey secured the leading positions: Thomas Preining set the day’s best time of 1:25.517, 0.249 seconds faster than team-mate Ricardo Feller in second place.
Preining was only 0.399 seconds slower than Mirko Bortolotti’s qualifying record (1:25.118) from 2023, which suggests that a new record lap could be set in tomorrow’s qualifying with the DTM’s spec tyre. Marco Wittmann’s wish for BMW finally to be competitive already on Friday also appears to have been granted.
Kelvin van der Linde (+0.317) and Wittmann (+0.502), who were the only drivers to use their new set of tyres right at the start of second practice, finished third and fourth. Fifth is Nicki Thiim, 0.531 seconds adrift. The driver second in the overall standings is also in the mix at the front in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo after the disappointing Oschersleben weekend.
HRT drivers must go through the pit lane on Saturday
The best drivers in the Ford and the McLaren placed seventh and eighth, with Finn Wiebelhaus (+0.549) and Ben Dörr (+0.602).
The two HRT Ford drivers Wiebelhaus and Arjun Maini (+0.716/11th place) must serve a drive-through penalty during the race at the team’s home event on Saturday because the team tested beforehand at the Nurburgring with Frank Stippler, who has FIA Platinum status. That is a breach of the testing regulations.
Behind eighth-placed Dörr came the only drivers who had already set their best times in first practice: Matteo Cairoli’s best time from first practice (1:26.144) was enough for ninth in the day’s classification - 0.627 seconds off. And Landgraf driver Lucas Auer, who was second in first practice, was 0.680 seconds off the day’s best time.
"I rate Mercedes highly": AMG better than it looks?
The Austrian, who is third in the championship, was therefore the best Mercedes-AMG driver, while DTM leader Maro Engel (+0.842) was only 14th in the overall classification. "I rate Mercedes highly," Emil Frey technical chief Jurg Flach warns against underestimating the brand with the star. It is quite possible that, after the good first session, they did not show all their cards in the evening.
Where does the Ferrari squad Emil Frey stand? "The first impression is better than expected," Flach replies. The weather is making the search for the perfect set-up difficult. "The set-up will be a challenge in terms of balance, because according to the weather forecast it could be around ten degrees cooler on Sunday."
Mapelli stoppage triggers Full Course Yellow
Practice remained largely free of incidents: 13 minutes after the start of the second session there was a Full Course Yellow period because Marco Mapelli came to a halt in his Abt Lamborghini at the pit entry. "I’m stuck in neutral," the Italian complained over the radio. The Temerario GT3 had to be towed away - after one minute the 80 km/h speed limit was lifted again.
Mapelli was able to resume practice and, 0.683 seconds adrift in 10th place in the day’s classification, was even the best Lamborghini driver.
Paul stand-in Engelhart improves in the Grasser Lamborghini
How did Christian Engelhart, who is in action this weekend as the replacement in Maximilian Paul’s Grasser Lamborghini, fare? The German set a 1:27.538 in first practice - and was last, 1.394 seconds behind Cairoli.
In second practice, the Lamborghini works driver improved to a 1:26.478, leaving him 0.961 seconds off Preining’s best time. That put Engelhart 16th in the overall classification - and made him 0.230 seconds faster than team mate Mirko Bortolotti, who was 19th.
Things get serious on Saturday with the first qualifying session: it can be assumed that the quick times will come after the out-lap and two preparation laps. The low tyre degradation allows two to three quick laps in succession.
