Leader Kelvin van der Linde remains in attack mode

• Audi driver sets fastest lap of FP1 at the Sachsenring
• Defending champion Thomas Preining steers his Porsche to second place
• Fans enjoy new event format: three DTM sessions on Saturday

Hohenstein-Ernstthal. Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) made a strong start to round six of the DTM at the Sachsenring. The championship leader produced the fastest lap of Free Practice 1 on Friday, stopping the clock at 1:18.599 minutes and underlining his title ambitions with an impressive display. “That looked really good. The set-up of the car was super, which meant we were fast from the word go. In general, I like the Sachsenring. I was regularly at the front of the field there during my time in the ADAC GT Masters,” said the Audi driver from Abt Sportsline.

In second place, 0.135 seconds slower than van der Linde, was reigning DTM champion Thomas Preining (A) in a Porsche 911 GT3 R for the Manthey EMA team. Currently sixth in the table, Preining left nobody in any doubt that he has not yet given up on winning the championship. “It feels good to finally be back among the front-runners. The team put in an incredible amount of work in the run-up to this event, especially in view of the many left turns. We want to be rewarded for that. I always enjoy driving at the Sachsenring and am looking forward to the races,” said the 26-year-old. Preining’s compatriot Lucas Auer was third fastest in a Mercedes-AMG. Jack Aitken (GB) guided the Ferrari 296 GT3 of Emil Frey Racing to fourth place. Maro Engel (Monaco) from Mercedes-AMG Team Winward was fifth.

Fans are experiencing a new event format during the weekend at the Sachsenring. For the first time, just one Free Practice was held on the Friday – and the drivers wasted no time in getting straight down to business. With temperatures around 30 degrees Celsius, the Pirelli slicks soon reached the optimal temperature and immediately made top times possible. Aitken initially moved to the top of the timing sheet, before Kelvin van der Linde set the fastest time on his fourth lap about ten minutes into the session. Around the midway point of the 55-minute practice, Preining secured second place. Auer recorded the third-fastest time shortly before the end of the session.

Free Practice two at the Sachsenring will take place from 08:35 to 09:20 on Saturday. The first qualifying session starts at 10:40. Fans can follow qualifying via a livestream at ran.de. The race gets underway at 13:30. ProSieben is showing all 16 of this season’s races live on free-to-air TV, with coverage starting half an hour before the start on Saturday and Sunday. The races are broadcast live or replayed in full in over 150 territories.