Four-time Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen personally steered his team into the decisive Top Qualifying 3 shootout for pole position. The Dutchman finished sixth in the second Top Qualifying session in the Verstappen-Mercedes-AMG #3 after initially setting the fastest time. In the closing stages, the drama intensified once again after the Code 60 zone triggered by Maro Engel’s accident was lifted, giving the drivers time for one final flying lap.
Nick Yelloly set the fastest time in the Abt Lamborghini #130 with a lap of 8:10.485, finishing 0.139 seconds ahead of Christian Krognes in the Walkenhorst Aston Martin #34. The remaining seven places in Top Qualifying 3 went to the “Grello” #911, the two HRT Fords #64 and #67, and the Konrad Lamborghini #7. By contrast, the Schubert BMW #77 and the Rowe BMW #99 were among those eliminated right at the end. Earlier, Engel’s time attack had already come to an abrupt end when he slid the RAVENOL Mercedes-AMG #80 into the barriers, triggering a lengthy yellow phase.
Top Qualifying 1 had earlier focused on securing a place in the second session, with 20 spots still available. Among those to miss out were the Dörr McLaren featuring former DTM stars Timo Glock and Timo Scheider, as well as all three HWA EVO cars.
#1 Farfus / Marciello / Pepper / van der Linde (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
10:25 a.m. Kelvin van der Linde spun in the Brünnchen section and initially struggled to get off the wet grass on slick tyres. However, he avoided any contact.
10:26 a.m. Van der Linde managed to free himself and is back on track.
11:38 a.m. Kelvin van der Linde: “Of course, we hope both cars make it through. Car number 1 is already safely qualified, and now we’re entering a very exciting phase just before the end, especially with the Code 60 period in Hatzenbach having been lifted. A lot of cars are on fresh tyres, so that may put us at a slight disadvantage. But Max Hesse is on a good lap right now, so let’s see.”
#3 Verstappen / Auer / Gounon / Juncadella (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
11:10 a.m. Max Verstappen is now at the wheel as the fight for a place in Top Qualifying 3 begins.
11:18 a.m. On his first flying laps, the four-time Formula 1 world champion sets the benchmark with an 8:14.459.
11:31 a.m. Verstappen heads out again.
12:00 a.m. Max Verstappen: “I felt very comfortable in the car. We wanted to make it into the top qualifying three, but that’s not easy given the strong competition. It was very tough going up against so many fast cars. But in the end I was good enough to slip through into Q3 — which was great. Fortunately it stayed dry, the car felt good, and we achieved our goal. Yesterday the conditions were completely different with the rain and the fog. It couldn’t have been much worse. But at least that gave me a good idea of what to expect during the race. I think we’ve prepared ourselves as well as we possibly could as a team. And this weekend we have a very professional crew working together who are giving everything they’ve got — heart and soul. So I’m hopeful that we’ll have a strong result.”
#5 Kaya / Kiefer / Piana / Stursberg (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
10:29 a.m. slight contact with #77 Wittmann / Eng / Weerts / Frijns (BMW M4 GT3 EVO) at the end of the start-finish straight.
#7 Stalidzane / Paul / Engelhart / Lefterov (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
10:35 a.m. Pavel Lefterov goes quickest with a lap of 8:16.517.
11:41 a.m. Christian Engelhart moves up to second, putting two Lamborghinis at the top of the order.
#33 Vazquez-Garcia / Leib / Di Martino / Brück (Audi R8 LMS GT3 evo II)
10:19 a.m. contact in the Veedol chicane.
#40 Posavac / Funke / Strycek / Carmona Chavez (BMW E89 Z4 (EVO 2013))
10:17 a.m. Volker Strycek opens Top Qualifying 1 immediately. Typical of Strycek, who raced in an Opel Manta for years, the Z4 is also running with the signature fox tail (Fuchsschwanz) this weekend.
11:03 a.m. Volker Strycek: “Top Qualifying was uncharted territory for me. Today was the first time I drove the Z4 on slicks in dry conditions. From the outset, expectations of making the top 20 were limited. Even so, it was a good session, not least because it was my first real experience with the car in these conditions. Yesterday I could only drive in the wet, so I’m very, very satisfied. The car makes a very good impression. It definitely has the performance. Once we drivers have gotten a little more used to it, it will certainly go even faster.”
#61 Adelson / Arnold / Green / Van der Zande (HWA EVO.R)
11:06 a.m. Lance David Arnold: “Things have gone quite well for us so far. All three cars are still running and intact. It’s a privilege to be able to drive the shootout on a clear track. It was tricky – heading into Fuchsröhre, it was still wet, so the question was whether to keep your foot in or not. I didn’t. Losing the car at the bottom of the dip would not have ended well. I think we can all be satisfied. You can see the team is enjoying it. We’re well prepared now and ready to go into the race.”
#63 Gebhardt / Holstad / Ludwig / Spengler (HWA EVO.R)
10:58 a.m. Bruno Spengler: “Top Qualifying 1 went well for us. Grip was very limited and the track was extremely dirty, but it improved a little with every lap. It was also a bit risky because some sections were still damp. The goal this morning was simply to avoid damaging the car, and we achieved that, even though the circuit was in poor condition. Now I’m looking forward to the race. The cars are well prepared, and the car felt very good.”
#69 Glock / Scheider / Dörr / Kirchhöfer (McLaren 720S-GT3)
10:58 a.m. The car did not make it into Top Q2. Timo Scheider said: “At the end of the day, we simply weren’t fast enough. We felt we had put our strongest card in the car – Marvin Kirchhöfer – but it looks as though he had a relatively difficult run. Traffic was a major issue in the first two laps. On top of that, conditions were still slightly damp and, unfortunately, we had no radio connection from his side, so we didn’t really know how he was getting on. In the end, 31st place is naturally disappointing. In dry conditions, we definitely would not have expected that. But 24 hours is a long time, and we still have some work to do.”
#80 Engel / Stolz / Schiller / Martin (Mercedes-AMG GT3)
11:01 a.m. Luca Stolz: “It was much more enjoyable than yesterday. Last night, we were dealing only with aquaplaning, which wasn’t great for the fans and certainly wasn’t much fun for us drivers either. So I was very happy that the track was dry this morning. There were still a few damp patches at the beginning, but conditions kept improving. The final lap was pretty good. With seventh place, we qualified for the next stage. Now Mario gets in the car, and I hope we can make it through to the next round.”
11:11 a.m. Maro Engel crashes heavily in the Hatzenbach section and is unable to continue. The left-rear suspension is badly damaged.
#81 Klingmann / de Wilde / de Phillippi / Verhagen (BMW M3 Touring 24h)
11:07 a.m. Jens Klingmann: “The first and only goal was to make it into Top Q2 – to be among the top 20 – and we achieved that, which is already a very good result. After yesterday’s rain, the track is still in very poor condition. I don’t think it feels like peak performance for anyone right now. The most important thing is that we made it through. We’ve also got to know the car a bit better, including the Yokohama tyres, and we made a few setup changes as well.”
#90 Schwarze / Cartelle / Sagrera / Pierre (Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO2)
10:17 a.m. After the accident in last night’s practice, the Teichmann Toyota is still in the team’s workshop in Adenau.
#99 Harper / Hesse / Van der Linde / Vanthoor (BMW M4 GT3 EVO)
11:50 a.m. Max Hesse: “I’m not disappointed, to be honest. We were the first car across the line, so I already knew it probably wouldn’t be enough. In the end, we just can’t match the pace of the cars at the front right now. We need to do our homework a little better for tomorrow. We also didn’t get 100 per cent out of the session, but more than eighth or ninth place wasn’t really possible.”
#130 Mapelli / Catsburg / Yelloly (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2)
10:36 a.m. Nicky Catsburg goes to the top with an 8:14.734.
11:40 a.m. Nicolas Yelloly seizes his chance and moves into P1, having not previously been in a Top Q3 qualifying position.
#911 Estre / Güven / Preining / Campbell (Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) Evo26)
11:32 a.m. The Porsche heads out again in pursuit of another quick lap.
11:43 a.m. Ayhancan Güven jumps to second place and qualifies for Top Q3 at the very last second.