NURBURG, Germany — Timo Glock (Kreuzlingen/Dörr Motorsport) is returning from the DTM summer break with momentum.
The former Formula 1 driver set the fastest practice time of 1:26.209 minutes in his McLaren 720S GT3 Evo at the start of the fifth race of the season at the Nürburgring on Friday.
“Of course, it was only free practice, but a result like that is simply a good thing. For us as a team, the challenge of the DTM is an ongoing process, and we’re moving in the right direction. Nevertheless, we mustn’t forget that Dörr Motorsport is only participating in its second year. I’m looking forward to a fantastic DTM weekend at the Nürburgring,” said Glock.
Glock’s teammate Ben Dörr (Germany) was the second-fastest driver, 0.044 seconds behind. Thierry Vermeulen (NL/Emil Frey Racing) finished third in his Ferrari 296 GT3. Ricardo Feller (CH/Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2) of the Land-Motorsport team was just two thousandths of a second slower in fourth. Ayhancan Güven (TR) drove the Porsche 911 GT3 R of local favorite Manthey EMA to fifth place.
The top times were achieved in the second free practice session on Friday afternoon in temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius. Glock was among the fastest drivers from the start.
However, the best times only tumbled in the final 15 minutes, when many drivers ran qualifying simulations on fresh Pirelli tires. Vermeulen initially took the lead, but was soon overtaken by Dörr as the leader.
Literally in the last second, Glock set the fastest lap of the day. The start of the second half of the season at the Nürburgring once again demonstrated the high level of competition in the DTM: the first 15 drivers were within half a second of each other.
Jack Aitken (GB/Emil Frey Racing) led the first free practice session this morning.
“We were testing here a few weeks ago, which may have given us a slight advantage going into the weekend,” explained the Ferrari driver. “I’m always particularly looking forward to the DTM races at the Nürburgring. The track has an incredible tradition, but we haven’t won a race here yet – we want to change that. I’ve also seen some British fans, which naturally gives me an extra dose of motivation.”
