DTM Oschersleben: Porsche dominates practice, leader Thiim far back

Porsche dominance during Friday practice in Oschersleben: Following the disappointment at the Norisring and Thomas Preining’s threat to quit over the unsatisfactory Balance of Performance (BoP), the “Grello” driver set the fastest time in both free practice sessions to start the second half of the season.

With a 1:22.425 during the qualifying simulation in the afternoon (FP2 results), he was slightly faster than just before noon, when Preining had also opted for a fresh set of tires (FP1 results). Second place – also in both sessions – went to his Manthey Porsche teammate Ricardo Feller, who was 0.081 seconds off the pace.

A Lamborghini driver finished behind the two Porsche pilots in both sessions: In the morning, it was Grasser driver Mirko Bortolotti, who ended up fifth in the daily standings and is acting as a lone warrior this time due to Maximilian Paul’s absence. In the afternoon, Abt driver Luca Engstler secured the third-place spot, 0.091 seconds behind.

Lamborghini and AMG waiting in the wings, mishap for Gounon

The fact that the Lamborghini seems to be working is not entirely surprising, as almost all cars have to deal with a less favorable BoP in Oschersleben compared to the Norisring, while the Temerario GT3 continues to be classified at the limit of its performance after the problems at the start of the season.

Last year’s winner Lucas Auer (+0.148) finished fourth in the Landgraf Mercedes, followed by Maro Engel (+0.381) in sixth for Winward Mercedes – and Jules Gounon (+0.457), another driver for the brand with the star, slotted into seventh. In the first practice, the trio occupied places four through six, which also indicates strong form.

However, the practice session did not start well for Gounon, who has been plagued by bad luck this year. After a few minutes, he limped his Winward Mercedes back to the pits with a problem at the rear right. “Something broke on the car,” he reported via radio. “Or do I have a puncture on the right rear?”

The problem actually turned out to be damage to a set of tires that had 21 laps on them.

Wittmann not quite fit, but with a qualifying simulation this time

Behind Gounon were drivers from teams that were the only ones to test at Oschersleben last week: Ben Dorr finished eighth in the Dorr McLaren, 0.518 seconds back, while Marco Wittmann was the top BMW driver in eleventh at Schubert’s home game, 0.628 seconds behind.

The German driver is not quite fit and is gritting his teeth this weekend despite an infection at what is known as a “bogey track” for BMW. The tight corners are notoriously unsuitable for the long M4 GT3 Evo. Teammate Kelvin van der Linde, who is fit again after his Norisring crash, finished 15th, 0.783 seconds behind.

The two BMW drivers were among the few who opted not to use a new set of tires in the first practice. This time, the qualifying simulation was carried out by both in the second session, after Wittmann had skipped it at the Norisring – leading the competition to suspect a tactical move.

“It will be really tough”: Significant gap for DTM leader Thiim

DTM leader Nicki Thiim faced a significant gap this time: The Comtoyou Aston Martin driver, who has taken three pole positions and two wins in the last four DTM races, could not manage better than 16th place, 0.820 seconds off the top time. Teammate Nicolas Baert, who finished last, was clearly struggling with his Vantage and went off track twice.

“I wouldn’t count them among the favorites because it’s going to be really tough for the guys,” former DTM champion Maximilian Gotz told ran.de, seeing the recently strong Aston Martin squad at a disadvantage. “Where are those eight tenths supposed to come from?”

This could indicate that Oschersleben truly does not suit the car and that the weekend is an opportunity for Thiim’s pursuers to gain ground in the overall standings.

Emil Frey team outside the top 10 after BoP criticism

Whether Emil Frey Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli, currently fourth in the championship, will succeed in doing so remains questionable: Technical director Jurg Flach described the BoP for the Ferrari as “not appropriate” ahead of the weekend – and although Oschersleben should actually suit the 296 GT3 Evo, his drivers did not finish near the front.

Thierry Vermeulen (+0.690) came in eleventh, while Cairoli (+0.709) was twelfth. The fears of the Ford Mustang drivers could also come true: Arjun Maini (+0.929) and Finn Wiebelhaus (+1.003), who was one of the few to go faster in the first practice with a new set of tires, only finished 17th and 18th. The beefy US bolide also only harmonizes to a limited extent with the twisty track layout.

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