Mike Rockenfeller tops first free practice at Zandvoort
Audi Sport has continued their dominating form in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters this afternoon in Zandvoort, host of the fourth round of the 2015 season. Mike Rockenfeller set the fastest time in the 45-minute session, lapping in 1:32.009.
The German from Team Phoenix was only marginally faster than António Félix Da Costa, second fastest in his BMW, just 0.008 seconds away. The session was trouble free, with a focus on setup work in a circuit where tyre wear will be an even more important factor, given the limitation to four sets for both qualifying sessions and races.
The Bavarian manufacturer’s foreseeable resurgence was confirmed as the next four classified drivers are at the wheel of their M4 DTMs. Augusto Farfus was third, 0.103 seconds off the pace, followed by reigning champion Marco Wittmann and rookie Tom Blomqvist. Maxime Martin came next in sixth place, 0.338 seconds off Rocky’s time.
Timo Scheider was seventh, followed by Mattias Ekström, both with Audi RS 5 DTMs. Gary Paffett was the best placed Mercedes driver in ninth, 0.399 seconds off the pace, with Edoardo Mortara completing the top ten.
Championship leader Jamie Green could only be sixteenth, 0.915 seconds behind the pace setter. Whilst Audi had a session with mixed results, Mercedes struggled for pace, with the C63 DTMs falling to the bottom of the classification.
The DTM on track action resumes tomorrow morning, with the second free practice session taking place at 11:30 CEST (GMT + 2).
