Lucas Auer tops first free practice at the Red Bull Ring
Local hero Lucas Auer set the fastest lap time at the wheel of his Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM in the first free practice session at the Red Bull Ring.
Auer set a best lap time of 1:24.185, 0.423 seconds ahead of Audi Sport Team Rosberg’s Jamie Green, with HWA team-mates Pascal Wehrlein and Daniel Juncadella next, the Spaniard 0.629 seconds off the pace.
Green’s team-mate René Rast was fifth, with the reigning champion barely seven-thousandths off Juncadella’s best lap time.
Mercedes-AMG’s Gary Paffett was sixth, with the championship leader ahead of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline’s Nico Müller and team-mate and championship rival Paul di Resta, with the Scot 0.740 seconds off the pace.
Audi Sport Team Phoenix drivers Loïc Duval and Mike Rockenfeller completed the top ten, with the 2013 champion a second behind Auer.
Sébastien Ogier had a quiet session in 16th place, 0.696 seconds off the pace and just ahead of BMW Team RBM drivers Philipp Eng and Bruno Spengler.
Edoardo Mortara had a troublesome session however, unable to complete a meaningful number of laps at the wheel of his Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM due to a gearbox problem – leaving him in 14th.
The session was finished with the slow zone checking and practice starts, during which BMW Team RMG’s Augusto Farfus had an electrical problem in his car, stalling on the grid and being pushed back to the pits by the track marshals.
Action resumes on Saturday at 8:30 CEST for the second free practice session.
