Miguel Molina quickest in first Valencia practice ahead of home DTM race
Miguel Molina warmed up for his home round of the DTM by setting the pace in the opening practice session at Valencia
The Spaniard took his old-spec Abt Audi to the top of the timesheets in 1m31.770s just 20 minutes into the session, and was never headed as temperatures increased on a dry afternoon.
Gary Paffett was Mercedes' top driver in second, 0.041s slower than Molina. Like the Audi man, the HWA driver's best lap came inside the first half hour.
The championship's in-form driver, Mattias Ekstrom, was third for Abt in the best of the newer-spec A4s, while HWA trio Ralf Schumacher, Jamie Green and Bruno Spengler filled the next three spots on what was an unusually competitive Friday showing for the Mercedes' 'A' team.
Abt's Timo Scheider and Persson Mercedes driver Renger van der Zande were next up, with Filipe Albuqerque ninth in his Rosberg Audi.
Martin Tomczyk, who will be crowned champion if he wins Sunday's race, completed the top 10 in his Phoenix Audi. In a typically closed session, just 1.3s separated the top 17 drivers.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap
1. Miguel Molina Abt Audi 1m31.770s 2. Gary Paffett HWA Mercedes 1m31.811s + 0.041s 3. Mattias Ekstrom Abt Audi 1m32.031s + 0.261s 4. Ralf Schumacher HWA Mercedes 1m32.093s + 0.323s 5. Jamie Green HWA Mercedes 1m32.139s + 0.369s 6. Bruno Spengler HWA Mercedes 1m32.141s + 0.371s 7. Timo Scheider Abt Audi 1m32.156s + 0.386s 8. Renger van der Zande Persson Mercedes 1m32.166s + 0.396s 9. Filipe Albuquerque Rosberg Audi 1m32.307s + 0.537s 10. Martin Tomczyk Phoenix Audi 1m32.312s + 0.542s 11. David Coulthard Mucke Mercedes 1m32.352s + 0.582s 12. Christian Vietoris Persson Mercedes 1m32.364s + 0.594s 13. Edoardo Mortara Rosberg Audi 1m32.472s + 0.702s 14. Susie Stoddart Persson Mercedes 1m32.700s + 0.930s 15. Mike Rockenfeller Abt Audi 1m32.900s + 1.130s 16. Oliver Jarvis Abt Audi 1m32.918s + 1.148s 17. Maro Engel Mucke Mercedes 1m33.003s + 1.233s 18. Rahel Frey Phoenix Audi 1m33.589s + 1.819s
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