Maro Engel confirms his status as Friday king at the DTM at the Nürburgring: Why the DTM was slower than the ADAC GT Masters and BMW is lagging behind
Friday practice for the DTM at the Nürburgring – and for the third time this season, Winward Mercedes driver Maro Engel set the fastest time of the day: the veteran set a 1:26.059 at the end of the second practice session in temperatures of over 20 degrees Celsius. HRT Mercedes driver Luca Stolz, who was 0.015 seconds slower, ensured a one-two lead for the brand with the three-pointed star
Third place went to Manthey EMA Porsche driver Ayhancan Güven, who set the fastest time in the first practice session (result FT1) and was 0.035 seconds off the pace at the end. The times were significantly slower than Mirko Bortolotti’s best qualifying time from last year, when he lapped the sprint track in 1:25.118.
And a month ago, when the ADAC GT Masters used the same track variant as part of the Truck Grand Prix, David Schumacher even achieved a pole time of 1:24.902. So why were the fastest drivers in DTM practice more than a second slower?
Why was the DTM significantly slower than the ADAC GT Masters?
The rubber abrasion of the trucks seems to have done the Pirelli-tired GT3 cars some good, according to rumours in the paddock. Because the times from the ADAC GT Masters were – if you believe the teams – unattainable for some of them today. In addition, today’s high temperatures had a negative impact on engine performance. And, as usual, hardly anyone fully revealed their cards on Friday.
The fastest times were all set on new tires: The Emil Frey Ferrari team also proved strong with fourth and sixth places for Jack Aitken (+0.055) and Thierry Vermeulen (+0.250). Lucas Auer (+0.227) rounded off the strong Mercedes-AMG result in fifth place with the new 35-millimeter restrictor (all info on the Nürburgring-BoP)
Ranking seventh and eighth were last year’s title rivals, DTM leader Mirko Bortolotti (+0.266) in the best Lamborghini and ‘Grello’ Porsche driver Thomas Preining (0.266). Kelvin van der Linde (+0.275), who is Bortolotti’s closest rival in the championship in the Abt Audi, finished ninth.
“Difficult start this morning,” said Kelvin van der Linde, who finished tenth in the first practice session. “I had a small problem with the car. In the second session, we were back where we belong. “
Lag for BMW: Nürburgring unfavorable for M4 GT3?
BMW Team Schubert was not quite on the pace: Sheldon van der Linde was the fastest driver in the M4 GT3 in eleventh place. The South African was 0.402 seconds off the pace. However, he was still better than three-time champion Rene Rast, who was 0.790 seconds behind in 17th place. At the private test day exactly one month ago, the driver from Minden had set the fastest time of 1:24.974.
For Rast, who has a good chance of finishing third in the championship at the halfway point, the motto at the Nürburgring is not to lose too much ground. “Of course, there are now tracks that might not play into the BMW’s hands,” he says, referring to the Eifel circuit and especially the Sachsenring.
Rast hopes for Spielberg and Hockenheim
“Instead, we have two tracks at the back, the Red Bull Ring and Hockenheim, which might suit us a little better again,” is his assessment. What’s more, rain cannot be ruled out for the two race days.
Rast also knows that these are conditions that don’t really suit the M4 GT3 either and fears that “we might have to make a few more sacrifices”. Above all, he is hoping for clever tactics like at the Norisring.
At the back of the field in both practice sessions: McLaren Team Dörr, the only team apart from Lamborghini squad Grasser not to have tested in the run-up to the weekend. However, Ben Dörr was faster in both sessions than Clemens Schmid, who brought up the rear just 1.115 seconds behind
