Photo: DTM

BMW driver Marco Wittmann tops final Barcelona test

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BMW driver Marco Wittmann topped the fourth and final Barcelona DTM test day. The German lapped the track in 1:06.451, a time two tenths faster than Mercedes duo Pascal Wehrlein, second, and Christian Vietoris.

Timo Scheider was top Audi driver in fourth position, 0.393 seconds from Wittmann’s time, with manufacturer colleague Miguel Molina in fifth. Scheider got his first taste of the DRS and option tyres during the test today.

“On Friday afternoon I covered my first kilometres with the option tyres – and they represented a huge positive surprise. Driving the DTM car on these tyres is truly big fun. Afterwards, you just don’t want to switch back to the standard tyres. And the DRS also makes an impact. I think it was time for making some changes. The fans want to see overtaking manoeuvres and both the DRS and the option tyres will be helpful to achieve this goal,” said Scheider.

Roberto Merhi claimed sixth fastest time ahead of Mattias Ekström and Edoardo Mortara. Joey Hand and Andy Priaulx rounded off the top ten.

“Contesting such a test with your new team is really nice. We used the time to get to know one another better – and I quickly found a good rhythm. I definitely will leave Barcelona with a lot of positive experiences under my belt. The option tyre is quick and rather consistent. And when you go out again on the standard tyres after a stint on the options you have to re-adapt. That’s an interesting challenge,” said Priaulx.

The overall fastest driver from the four test days was Gary Paffett, setting the time 1:06.149 on the second test day, closely followed by BMW duo Augusto Farfus Jr. and Timo Glock.

Hockenheim hosts the final pre-season test ahead of the season premiere on the very same track on the 5th of May.