GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS continued its preparations for the race weekend at the Nürburgring with a one-hour Free Practice 2 session. Early rain left the track damp, but that did nothing to slow the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3, which set the pace.
Fabian Schiller initially set the fastest time for the #17 GetSpeed with a lap of 1:54.962. Behind him, the #991 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3, driven by James Kellett, was second and was also the fastest car in the Bronze Cup. #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3, with Mattia Drudi, was third.
Fourth place went to the #30 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 of Ignacio Montenegro, Matisse Lismont and Amaury Cordeel, which was also the fastest Silver Cup entry at that stage. Meanwhile, the #23 Team RJN McLaren 720S GT3, shared by Maxwell Lynn, Horatio Fitz-Simon and Ben Dörr, completed the top five.
GetSpeed takes pace honours again
With 35 minutes remaining, #17 GetSpeed remained at the top after Maximilian Götz took over the wheel. #991 Paradine Competition was second with Darren Leung, followed by #7 Comtoyou Racing with Marco Sørensen in third. #30 Team WRT remained fourth, while #23 Team RJN held fifth with Maxwell Lynn behind the wheel.
Behind the top five, the #3 2Seas Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 with Jules Gounon was sixth, followed by the #87 Winward Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Gabriele Piana in seventh, which was also the fastest Bronze Cup entry at that stage. The #59 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 of Marvin Kirchhöfer was eighth, followed by the #64 Haupt Racing Team Ford Mustang GT3 with Thomas Drouet in ninth. The #12 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 of Jayden Ojeda completed the top 10.
The session was then interrupted when the #11 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 ran wide and hit the barrier. The incident prompted race control to activate Full Course Yellow (FCY) to allow the marshals to clear and secure the affected area.
With 14 minutes remaining, the order at the front changed again. #97 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R moved up to fourth with Sven Müller behind the wheel, pushing #30 Team WRT down to fifth. This briefly put three different classes inside the top five: #17 GetSpeed in first, #991 Paradine Competition second, #7 Comtoyou Racing third, #97 Rutronik Racing fourth and #30 Team WRT fifth.
BMW chasing down the top times
By the end of the session, the #17 GetSpeed Mercedes-AMG GT3 held on to the top spot with a time of 1:54.962. #991 Paradine Competition finished second, 0.212 seconds off the pace, while #7 Comtoyou Racing was third, just 0.218 seconds behind the benchmark. #97 Rutronik Racing took fourth with a gap of 0.240 seconds, while #30 Team WRT completed the top five at 0.385 seconds from the fastest time.
In the Gold Cup, the #58 Garage 59 McLaren 720S GT3 was the fastest. The Silver Cup was led by the #30 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3, while the Bronze Cup was topped by the #991 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3.
Action will resume on Sunday, 30 August, starting with Qualifying 1 at 09:45 local time, followed by Qualifying 2 at 10:20, Qualifying 3 at 10:35, and Qualifying Combined at 10:55. The main event, the Main Race, will wrap up the weekend action at 15:00 local time.
