– Extreme heat at the DTM training start at the Nürburgring: At 36 degrees air temperature and a forest fire not far from the Eifel course causing a smoke column, the Porsche top team Manthey secures the top positions: Thomas Preining was 0.249 seconds faster than teammate Ricardo Feller in second place with a best time of the day of 1:25.517 (FT2 result).
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Preining was only 0.399 seconds slower than Mirko Bortolotti’s qualifying record (1:25.118) from 2023, suggesting that a new record lap could be set in tomorrow’s qualifying with the DTM special tire. Marco Wittmann’s wish that BMW would finally be competitive already on Friday also apparently came true.
Because Kelvin van der Linde (+0.317) and Wittmann (+0.502), who were the only ones to use their new set of tires at the start of the second training, finished in third and fourth place. Fifth is Nicki Thiim with a 0.531 second deficit. The second-placed driver in the overall standings is also mixing it up at the front in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo after the disappointing Oschersleben weekend.
HRT drivers must serve a drive-through penalty on Saturday
In seventh and eighth place were the best drivers in the Ford and McLaren 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 on Saturday at the team’s home event because they tested with Frank Stippler at the Nürburgring beforehand, who has FIA Platinum status. This is a violation of the testing regulations.
Behind eighth-placed Dörr were the only drivers who set their best times already in the first training (FT1 result): Matteo Cairoli’s best time from the first training (1:26.144) was enough for ninth place in the daily standings – with a 0.627 second deficit. And Landgraf driver Lucas Auer, who was second in the first training, was 0.680 seconds off the best time of the day.
“I rate Mercedes highly”: AMG better than in training?
The Austrian, who is third in the championship, was thus the best Mercedes-AMG driver, while DTM leader Maro Engel (+0.842) only finished 14th overall. “I rate Mercedes highly,” warns Emil Frey technical director Jürg Flach against underestimating the brand with the star. It is quite possible that not all cards were revealed after the good first session in the evening.
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Where does the Ferrari team Emil Frey stand? “The first impression is better than expected,” replies Flach. The weather makes the search for the perfect setup difficult. “The setup will be a challenge in terms of balance because it could be about ten degrees cooler on Sunday according to the weather forecast.”
Mapelli breakdown causes Full Course Yellow
The training was mostly free of incidents: 13 minutes after the start of the second session there was a Full Course Yellow phase because Marco Mapelli stalled his Abt Lamborghini at the pit entry. “I’m stuck in neutral,” complained the Italian over the team radio. The Temerario GT3 had to be towed – after one minute the 80 km/h speed limit was lifted again.
Mapelli was able to resume training and with a 0.683 second deficit finished tenth in the daily standings, even becoming the best Lamborghini driver.
Paul replacement Engelhart improves in the Grasser Lamborghini
How did Christian Engelhart, who is acting as a replacement this weekend in Maximilian Paul’s Grasser Lamborghini, perform? The Starnberg native drove a 1:27.538 in the first training – and was last with a 1.394 second deficit to Cairoli.
In the second training, the Lamborghini factory driver improved to a 1:26.478, missing Preining’s best time by 0.961 seconds. In the overall standings, Engelhart finished 16th – and was thus 0.230 seconds faster than Bortolotti, who finished 19th.
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On Saturday it gets serious at 9:55 am with the first qualifying: It can be assumed that the fast times will come after the out lap from the pits and two preparation laps. The low tire degradation allows two to three fast laps in a row.
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