Augusto Farfus leads first free practice at Zandvoort

BMW Motorsport driver Augusto Farfus set the fastest time in the first free practice session at Zandvoort.

The Brazilian from Team RMG led during the initial stages, but Mercedes’ Lucas Auer then took over first position while practicing his long runs, with Farfus setting his best lap time on his last attempt, clocking a 1:29.506, two-tenths clear of the Austrian. Farfus’s time was also nearly three seconds faster than Marco Wittmann’s 2014 lap record around the newly resurfaced track.

Farfus’ team-mate Marco Wittmann was third, with championship leader Mattias Ekström the best-placed Audi in fourth, just over four-tenths off the pace.

Gary Paffett took his Mercedes’ to fifth position, with BMW’s Timo Glock following behind. Mercedes driver Robert Wickens was seventh despite struggling with balance, albeit seven-tenths off Farfus’ time.

Audi’s Mike Rockenfeller was eighth, with BMW’s Tom Blomqvist and Rockenfeller’s team-mate at Team Phoenix Loïc Duval completing the top ten.

Team Rosberg drivers and championship contenders Jamie Green and René Rast struggled with balance at the wheel of their Audi RS 5 DTMs, finishing in 11th and 15th positions respectively.

The session was followed by drivers practicing slow zones as well as their starts on the main straight.

Action resumes tomorrow at 9:45 CET for Free Practice 2.