Photo: BMW Press Club

Tom Blomqvist on top at the last gasp at FP1 in Spielberg

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The second round of the 2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season is already underway, with the first free practice session having taken place this afternoon at the Spielberg circuit in Austria. Britain’s Tom Blomqvist set the fastest time in a competitive session for BMW, where nothing was decided until the last car went took the chequered flag.

The Styrian track has been resurfaced during the winter which, together with yesterday’s light rain, allowed the DTM drivers to be significantly fast, with all drivers going under the former record set by Mike Rockenfeller nearly three years ago, with BMW’s Maxime Martin the only exception after experiencing technical problems.

The session started with Audi’s Nico Müller setting the first fastest laps, and having an interesting battle with points’ leader Paul Di Resta. Lap times were constantly improving due to the new tarmac.

Audi Sport dominated the time sheets, with Mike Rockenfeller the first leader, then Edoardo Mortara setting faster laps in his Audi RS 5. The Italian from Team Abt Sportsline was the man to watch, consistently setting purple and green sectors.

However, it was clear that the last drivers to set a time would have the upper hand. With the chequered flag already out, BMW’s Tom Blomqvist went fastest with a time of 1:23.941, being the only driver to break the 1:24 barrier.

Edoardo Mortara would finish second, 0.101 seconds behind the Brit, with BMW’s Timo Glock in third.

Mercedes AMG’s Max Götz, who was on top with 90 seconds on the clock, was fourth and the best man for the Stuttgart manufacturer, 0.389 seconds off the pace.

Mike Rockenfeller was fifth, followed by the BMW contingent formed by Marco Wittmann, Bruno Spengler and António Félix Da Costa.

Local hero Lucas Auer was ninth for Mercedes, although already 0.702 seconds behind Blomqvist, with Audi’s Mattias Ekström closing the top ten.

Gary Paffett was 11th, with standings leader Paul Di Resta was 15th, 0.897 seconds behind his fellow countryman.

The session was largely trouble free and finished with practice starts along the main straight.

The DTM returns to the track tomorrow at 12:40 CEST for the second free practice session.