Oschersleben DTM: Dirk Werner quickest as BMWs fly
Dirk Werner was a surprise pacesetter in the opening free practice session for this weekend's DTM round at Oschersleben
Werner took his Schnitzer BMW around the twisty 2.3-mile circuit in 1m22.132s during the final five minutes of the session on a warm afternoon in Germany.
Behind the German was championship leader Gary Paffett; the Briton 0.265 seconds slower in his HWA Mercedes and the only non-BMW driver in the top four as RBM duo Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx were next up.
Following up from his pole position at Zandvoort last time out, Timo Scheider was the best of the Audi drivers in his Abt Sportsline A5. Behind him were David Coulthard's Mucke Mercedes and title contender Bruno Spengler's Schnitzer BMW.
Audi men Mike Rockenfeller and Adrien Tambay were next up for the Phoenix and Abt outfits while Christian Vietoris completed the top 10 for HWA.
Jamie Green, who is Paffett's team-mate and closest rival for the title, was 13th fastest.
Meanwhile reigning champion Martin Tomczyk, who carries a five-place grid penalty into the Oschersleben round after spinning Paffett at Zandvoort, was only 14th.
Tomczyk had one of the few incidents of the session; going straight on at Turn 1 at the midway point. He managed to keep his M3 out of the gravel and executed a neat spin/turn to rejoin the track.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Dirk Werner Schnitzer BMW 1m22.132s 2. Gary Paffett HWA Mercedes 1m22.397s + 0.265s 3. Augusto Farfus RBM BMW 1m22.494s + 0.362s 4. Andy Priaulx RBM BMW 1m22.514s + 0.382s 5. Timo Scheider Abt Audi 1m22.676s + 0.544s 6. David Coulthard Mucke Mercedes 1m22.679s + 0.547s 7. Bruno Spengler Schnitzer BMW 1m22.696s + 0.564s 8. Mike Rockenfeller Phoenix Audi 1m22.700s + 0.568s 9. Adrien Tambay Abt Audi 1m22.776s + 0.644s 10. Christian Vietoris HWA Mercedes 1m22.830s + 0.698s 11. Mattias Ekstrom Abt Audi 1m22.848s + 0.716s 12. Roberto Merhi Persson Mercedes 1m23.004s + 0.872s 13. Jamie Green HWA Mercedes 1m23.049s + 0.917s 14. Martin Tomczyk RMG BMW 1m23.178s + 1.046s 15. Robert Wickens Mucke Mercedes 1m23.230s + 1.098s 16. Filipe Albuquerque Rosberg Audi 1m23.241s + 1.109s 17. Joey Hand RMG BMW 1m23.255s + 1.123s 18. Miguel Molina Phoenix Audi 1m23.266s + 1.134s 19. Edoardo Mortara Rosberg Audi 1m23.412s + 1.280s 20. Ralf Schumacher HWA Mercedes 1m23.436s + 1.304s 21. Rahel Frey Abt Audi 1m23.452s + 1.320s 22. Susie Wolff Persson Mercedes 1m23.839s + 1.707s
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