Mercedes-AMG makes strong start to second half of the DTM season

Maro Engel (Monaco) has made an aggressive start to the second half of the DTM season. The Mercedes-AMG driver set the fastest lap time in Friday’s second free practice at the Nürburgring, stopping the clock at 1:26.059 minutes to ensure he ended day one of the fifth race weekend at the top of the timing sheets.

“The Nürburgring is my second home. I love the Nordschleife, but also really enjoy driving on the Grand Prix circuit. The car was really good in the second free practice and we are happy with the balance of the car. It was a successful first day’s work in the Eifel,” said the experienced racer from Mercedes-AMG Team Winward. Just 0.015 seconds slower was fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Luca Stolz (Brachbach) from Mercedes-AMG Team HRT. The third-fastest lap came courtesy of Ayhancan Güven (TR) in a Porsche 911 GT3 R. The best-placed Ferrari driver was Jack Aitken (GB) from Emil Frey Racing in fourth, while Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) guided a third car with the star emblem to fifth place.

Friday afternoon’s second free practice session at the iconic track in the Eifel region was significantly faster than the opening session. Just ten minutes in, Kelvin van der Linde (ZA), who lies second in the championship, bettered the morning’s best time in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 run by Abt Sportsline. However, this was then surpassed by eight drivers as the session progressed. Güven initially moved to the top of the timings, but was replaced shortly thereafter by Stolz. Engel ultimately set the fastest time of the day on his 19th lap, with three minutes remaining.

Porsche driver Güven produced a strong overall display, ending the day as the third-fastest driver, having set the best time in FP1. “It feels super to start the weekend with a top time. The season has not gone to plan so far, but the result in practice shows that we are moving in the right direction. We want to put on a great show for the fans at our home event,” promised Güven, whose team Manthey EMA is based next to the 3.629-kilometre circuit in the Eifel.