Nico Müller fastest in first free practice session at Spa
The 2020 DTM season finally kicked off with the first free practice session at a drying Spa-Francorchamps. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline driver Nico Müller set the best lap time of the session in his last attempt, 2:23.272.
The session started with a wet track as rain fell over some parts of the track. But the rain stopped with 17 minutes to go and some drivers, such as BMW Motorsport Team RMR’s Jonathan Aberdein, switched to slick tyres.
The session had to be suspended with a red flag as WRT’s Ferdinand Habsburg crashed his Audi RS 5 DTM into the barriers at Stavelot with ten minutes to go on the clock, with the Austrian going off under braking on wet tyres.
The cars returned to the track with five minutes left on the clock, as BMW’s Marco Wittmann, Robert Kubica and Jonathan Aberdein, and Audi’s Robin Frijns alternated purple sectors in their final attempts.
Team Rosberg’s Jamie Green suffered a rear right puncture as the Briton was improving his personal best on his final attempt.
At the end of the session, Müller set the fastest lap time with 2:23.272 on wet tyres, with team-mate Frijns in second place, 0.669 seconds behind. Wittmann was third 1.6 seconds off the pace, with Kubica in fourth, two-tenths further adrift.
BMW’s new recruit Aberdein was fifth, 2.5 seconds behind Müller, with reigning champion René Rast in sixth, 3.4 seconds off the pace.
Timo Glock and Sheldon van der Linde were next for BMW Motorsport, with Audi drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Jamie Green completing the top ten, 4.3 seconds off the pace.
The qualifying session for Race 1 is scheduled for 10:55 CEST.
