Stolz goes fastest on day one of DTM weekend in the Alps

• Mercedes-AMG driver tops the timings in practice at the Red Bull Ring, ahead of Mirko Bortolotti
• Impressive statement from Mercedes-AMG: three cars in the top five
• DTM drivers put to the test on a wet and drying track

Spielberg. Luca Stolz (Brachbach) backed up his recent fine form on the opening day of the penultimate DTM weekend in Spielberg, Austria. The 29-year-old from Mercedes-AMG Team HRT produced the best lap of Free Practice 2 at the Red Bull Ring on Friday afternoon, his time of 1:29.764 making him the day’s fastest driver. “The Red Bull Ring is not actually one of my favourite circuits, but I still had a good feeling on the track from the word go. However, the times are way off what we can expect in completely dry conditions in qualifying. I would like mixed weather on the weekend, that would suit us best,” said Stolz, who claimed his first win of the season at the most recent DTM event at the Sachsenring.

SSR Performance driver Mirko Bortolotti (I), currently second in the table, was just 0.042 seconds slower in second place in his Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Maro Engel (Monaco) guided his Mercedes-AMG to third place, while fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Lucas Auer from Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter was the fastest Austrian in fourth place at his home event. Last year’s winner at the alpine circuit, René Rast (Bregenz), war fifth fastest, making him the best of the BMW drivers. Championship leader Kelvin van der Linde (ZA) had to settle for 13th place in the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2 of Abt Sportsline.

Unlike in the morning, the 4.318-kilometre track at the Red Bull Ring was at least dry in places in the second Free Practice, allowing the teams to fit Pirelli slicks for the first time this weekend. The Mercedes-AMG drivers set the fastest times from the outset, with Engel the first to crack the 1:30.000-minute mark with roughly four minutes of the session remaining. He was initially replaced by Bortolotti at the top of the timings sheet, but soon bounced back with the fastest time of the day. Fourth-placed Auer demonstrated all-round qualities: the local favourite had previously set the fastest time of the morning session, with a 1:38.051-minute lap on a completely wet track. “When it rains, you get standing water in some passages at the Red Bull Ring. Despite this, we did a lot of driving in these difficult conditions, in order to better understand the wet tyres. You use every lap, and all the drivers learned a lot in this session.”

The first qualifying at the Red Bull Ring gets underway at 09:20 on Saturday. Fans can follow the session in a livestream at ran.de. ProSieben is showing all 16 of this season’s races live on free-to-air TV, with coverage beginning half an hour before the start of the races on Saturday and Sunday. The races are broadcast live or replayed in full in over 150 territories.