René Rast ready to go for the top at the Red Bull Ring

• BMW driver goes fastest in practice on the opening day of the penultimate round of the DTM
• Team-mate Wittmann produces the second-fastest lap at the Red Bull Ring
• Youngster Morris Schuring sets the top time in a rainy morning session

Spielberg. René Rast (Bregenz) from Schubert Motorsport is ready and raring to go as the DTM title race enters the finish straight. The BMW works driver set Friday's fastest time at the penultimate race weekend of the season at the Red Bull Ring, stopping the clock at 1:28.674 at the end of his flying lap. "The Red Bull Ring suits the BMW, but I was still a little surprised with the fastest time. After all, I was down in 17th in the rain in the morning session. I would prefer to have dry conditions for the rest of the weekend. If I manage to finish on the podium in both races, anything is possible in the title race at the finale," said the man who currently lies seventh in the table, 21 points off top spot.

His team-mate Marco Wittmann (Fürth) was second and, together with Rast, was one of only two drivers to dip under the 1:28.000-minute mark. Gilles Magnus (B/Comtoyou Racing) ended the session in third place in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Rang, while fourth place went to Lamborghini drier Jordan Pepper (ZA/TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT). Arjun Maini (IND/HRT Ford Performance) produced another strong display and guided his Ford Mustang GT3 to fifth place.

Free Practice 2 on Friday afternoon took place in dry conditions and initially saw Maini in attack mode. The Indian was first to top the timing sheet and then found himself in a battle for first place with Magnus. A good 15 minutes into the session, Rast became the first driver to go under 1:28.000 minutes. He then went even faster with his top time. Team-mate Wittmann came dangerously close to beating him, but eventually had to settle for second place, 0.051 seconds slower than the three-time champion.

The opening practice session on Friday morning saw the 24-strong field head out onto a wet track in a cool 13 degrees Celsius. Jules Gounon (F/Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter) led the way until shortly before the end of the session, when DTM newcomer Morris Schuring (NL/Manthey Junior Team) set the fastest time of 1:37.887 minutes in the dying seconds. "That result feels good, as the weather forecast says we could be in for similarly difficult conditions in the race. I really enjoy driving at the Red Bull Ring. It was here that I secured my first pole position in the Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland - perhaps I can do the same in the DTM," said the Dutchman.

The first qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring gets underway at 09:10 on Saturday. Fans can follow qualifying in a livestream at ran.de. ProSieben is showing all 16 of this season's races live on free-to-air TV, with coverage starting at 13:00 on Saturday and Sunday. The two races can be seen in a free stream on Joyn, ServusTV ON and the YouTube channel @DTM.

All results from the Red Bull Ring are available at dtm.com/en/results.