Robin Frijns tops first wet practice session at Brands Hatch
The weather was the main protagonist during today’s sole free practice session at Brands Hatch, host of the sixth round of the 2019 DTM season. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline’s Robin Frijns set the fastest lap time as the conditions worsened throughout the session.
Due to the noise restrictions around Brands Hatch, this weekend the DTM has a more compact format than usual, with only one free practice session for the whole weekend.
Team Phoenix driver Loïc Duval finished the wet session second ahead of BMW’s Marco Wittmann. Fellow Team RMG driver Timo Glock was fourth despite experiencing technical problems which forced him to return to his pit garage.
The drivers struggled in the conditions, with Audi Sport Team Rosberg’s Jamie Green spinning on the track, but was able to recover on his own power. R-Motorsport’s Ferdinand Habsburg suffered worse luck, going straight at Paddock Hill and requiring assistance after burying his Aston Martin Vantage DTM in the gravel trap.
Frijns finished the session as the fastest driver with a lap time of 1:16.318, with Duval 0.132 seconds behind. Wittmann was two-tenths off the pace, with Glock already seven-tenths behind Frijns.
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline’s Nico Müller was fifth, 0.872 seconds from the top time, with Team Phoenix’s Mike Rockenfeller just a further six-thousandths behind.
Team WRT’s Jonathan Aberdein was seventh, followed by BMW’s Team RBM Sheldon Van der Linde.
Daniel Juncadella was the fastest driver for R-Motorsport in ninth, a full second off the pace, with BMW Team RMG’s Bruno Spengler completing the top ten.
The qualifying session for Race 1 is scheduled for 11:50 CEST.
