When the racing line in the first qualifying session began to dry the lap times dropped. At the end of the three-hour session, the AMG GT3 #48 of AMG Mercedes Team Mann Filter took the provisional pole position with a lap time of 8:24.801 minutes. Just 0.211 seconds behind the pole sitters, the Audi Sport Team Car Collection Audi R8 LMS secured second position, followed by a Black Falcon AMG Mercedes GT3 that was half a second slower than the pole sitters. Altogether, all the top-30 positions were secured by GT3 vehicles racing in the SP9 category. The fastest of the No-GT3 cars was the Care for Climate Porsche 991 GT3 Cup 2.
#1 – Porsche 911 GT3 R (Lietz,Makowiecki,Pilet,Tandy)
22:27hrs Patrick Pilet: “For me it was about completing a few laps. I haven’t been sitting behind the wheel so much, today. I didn’t take a risk as you lose it if you push too hard. Currently there is a lot of traffic, out there.”
Frédéric Makowiecki: “The track conditions are tricky as it was still wet, in places. The racing line is drying but due to the traffic you have to move off the line, every now and then.”
#11 – Ferrari 488 GT3 (Keilwitz,Kainz,Krumbach,Mattschull)
21:19hrs: Alexander Mattschull: “We hadn’t a lot of time for testing. Actually, these were the first laps I could complete. But everything was okay and the car also works well. The track is getting faster and faster, now.”
#16 – Mercedes- AMG GT3 (van der Zande,Vautier,Seyffarth,Heyer)
21:07hrs: Renger van der Zande: “It’s neither wet nor dry. There still are several wet spots but some 50 metres later the racing line is completely dry. It currently isn’t easy – there’s too much to lose but nothing to be won. Slicks currently are the correct choice but you have to be careful. If you move off the line you’re in the wet right away and end in the crash barriers.”
21:41hrs: Jan Seyffarth: “There still are a few wet spots – but these spots are particularly tricky. We hope that we will be able to make it to the Top Qualifying.”
#30 – Porsche 911 GT3 R (Abbelen,Müller,Renauer,Preining)|
21:33hrs: Robert Renauer: “Actually, things still are running rather relaxed, now. These Nordschleife laps have been my first for two years. The track still is drying. The car is running really great. Now it’s the turn of Alex who is slightly more experienced. We want to secure a Top Qualifying position. The traffic was rather heavy but you already could smell the barbecues of the fans.”
#38 – Nissan GT-R Nissmo GT3 (Wlazik,Menzel,De Oliveira,Burdon)
22:23hrs: Christian Menzel: “I don’t yet know if I will get behind the wheel today. I’d prefer seeing our newcomers driving in the dark. If the guys say that the light is well adjusted I believe them. For two of our drivers it’s the very first time at the Nordschleife and they need every single metre.”
#42 – BMW M6 GT3 (Farfus,Tomczyk,van der Linde,Scheider)
21:47hrs: Sheldon van der Linde: “Things went well for us. From now on, the times will drop lap by lap. Due to the rain we couldn’t test a lot in the practice session. It’s good that I will have the opportunity to complete several laps now. In the past weeks I have been racing in DTM and now I have to readapt to the GT3 car. Currently, the traffic out there is really heavy.”
#44 – Porsche 911 GT3 R (Bachler,Bergmeister,Ragginger,Werner)
22:44hrs: Dirk Werner: “We waited until the track began to dry to then go out on slicks. But only the racing line was dry and therefore, getting a sense of the track was really difficult. We haven’t been driving a lot in the dry, so far. We still have ambitious goals but slowly are running out of time.”
Klaus Bachler: “These have been my first Nordschleife laps for three months – and I had to complete them in the dark! But it feels great to be back. Our car is running well and we are testing several things. Driving here is incredible fun and I hope that I will be able to get back behind the wheel for a few more laps.”
#48 – Mercedes- AMG GT3 (Hohenadel,Arnold,Marciello,Götz)
21:29hrs Maximilian Götz: “I just completed my two obligatory laps. The track is improving more and more. I think that we will witness even faster lap times in the coming 30 minutes.”
#98 – BMW M6 GT3 (Eng,De Phillippi,Blomqvist,Jensen)
22:12hrs: Mikkel Jensen: “My first Nordschleife laps in the dark and I still am learning a lot. At the end of the day things didn’t run too bad but it was rather difficult out there. If you have to move off the line for passing somebody you often get on wet spots and lose grip.”
#320 – Porsche GT3 Cup 2 (von Löwis of Menar,“Smudo“, Schellhaas,Duffner)
21:17hrs: Thomas von Löwis of Menar: “In consideration of the fact that we are amateurs we have been the quickest for a long time and the fact that we were able to do so was big fun. Thank you, Daniel Schellhaas, great effort! And it goes without saying that we made a screenshot – after all, it was an achievement to never be forgotten.”
