Finally, the wait is over! With two free practice sessions, DTM action for this weekend’s season opener got underway at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg.
Audi’s Nico Müller and BMW’s Bruno Spengler were the respective fastest drivers in the two sessions. Today already gave an appetiser of what has been forecast for the rest of the weekend: the first session was held in dry conditions, second free practice took place on a drying track after heavy rain earlier in the afternoon.
At 13.10pm, the sound of the new-for-2019 turbo engines roared through Hockenheim’s famous Motodrom section for the first time. The 45-minute session was the first chance for the 18 drivers and their teams to prepare for this weekend’s pair of races.
MÜLLER SETS THE PACE IN FREE PRACTICE 1
In the end, the lap times of the first 17 drivers were within two seconds, Nico Müller having posted the fastest time of 1m30.746s. With René Rast, Robin Frijns and Jonathan Aberdein in second to fourth place, Audi drivers locked out the first four places.
Aberdein was the best-placed rookie in the first-ever DTM practice session for both himself and his team, WRT. Marco Wittmann was fastest BMW driver in fifth while his fellow BMW drivers Timo Glock and Philipp Eng also made it into the top 10. R-Motorsport’s Daniel Juncadella ended up fastest of the four Aston Martin drivers in 14thplace, 1.751s down on Müller’s fastest time.
SPENGLER TURNS THE TIDE FOR BMW IN FP2
Second free practice was a 30-minute session that was held on a drying track with times improving as more and more laps were completed. 2012 DTM champion Bruno Spengler came out on top with a time of 1m43.780s, 0.014s faster than Jake Dennis with the fastest of the four R-Motorsport Aston Martins in second place. With Marco Wittmann (BMW) and René Rast (Audi), two former champions were classified third and fourth respectively.
BMW and Audi also nicely alternated in the following positions with Timo Glock and Nico Müller while Dani Juncadella ended up seventh, making it two Aston Martins in the top 10. Audi drivers Robin Frijns, Loïc Duval and Mike Rockenfeller rounded out the top ten.
Tomorrow, action continues with qualifying at 10.30am. The first race of the weekend gets underway at 13.33pm.