Valencia DTM: Edoardo Mortara keeps Audi on top
Edoardo Mortara kept Audi on top at Valencia as he went fastest in the second DTM practice session at the Spanish circuit on Saturday
The Rosberg Audi driver recovered from a trip through the Turn 1 gravel during the first half of the drying session and produced the best time of the morning in the final minute, a 1m26.876s.
Conditions at the start of the session were similar to those in which the previous day's had ended, with laptimes around the 1m37s mark and everybody using wet tyres.
As plenty switched to slicks early on, the track conditions caught many out with championship leader Gary Paffett having a similar off to Mortara's at Turn 12 and Jamie Green in the sister HWA Mercedes spinning at Turn 1.
Times reached 1m32s by the halfway point and continued to tumble thereafter as the damp patches on the circuit receded.
Mortara's table-topping time knocked Martin Tomczyk's RMG BMW down to second, the reigning champion 0.095s slower.
Tomczyk was the only non-Audi driver inside the top seven, with Phoenix duo Mike Rockenfeller and Friday pacesetter Miguel Molina third and sixth for Phoenix, separated by Filipe Albuquerque (Rosberg) and Mattias Ekstrom (Abt).
Abt's Timo Scheider was seventh with Dirk Werner and title contender Bruno Spengler next up in their Schnitzer BMWs. Adrien Tambay completing the top 10 in his Abt Audi.
Ralf Schumacher sat out most of the first half of the session while his HWA mechanics worked on his car, but was able to set the fastest time by a Mercedes driver later on to take 15th spot.
Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Edoardo Mortara Rosberg Audi 1m26.876s 2. Martin Tomczyk RMG BMW 1m26.971s + 0.095s 3. Mike Rockenfeller Phoenix Audi 1m27.044s + 0.168s 4. Filipe Albuquerque Rosberg Audi 1m27.073s + 0.197s 5. Mattias Ekstrom Abt Audi 1m27.144s + 0.268s 6. Miguel Molina Phoenix Audi 1m27.173s + 0.297s 7. Timo Scheider Abt Audi 1m27.187s + 0.311s 8. Dirk Werner Schnitzer BMW 1m27.188s + 0.312s 9. Bruno Spengler Schnitzer BMW 1m27.199s + 0.323s 10. Adrien Tambay Abt Audi 1m27.201s + 0.325s 11. Augusto Farfus RBM BMW 1m27.222s + 0.346s 12. Andy Priaulx RBM BMW 1m27.304s + 0.428s 13. Joey Hand RMG BMW 1m27.431s + 0.555s 14. Rahel Frey Abt Audi 1m27.492s + 0.616s 15. Ralf Schumacher HWA Mercedes 1m27.589s + 0.713s 16. Gary Paffett HWA Mercedes 1m27.830s + 0.954s 17. Jamie Green HWA Mercedes 1m27.880s + 1.004s 18. Roberto Merhi Persson Mercedes 1m27.930s + 1.054s 19. Christian Vietoris HWA Mercedes 1m28.040s + 1.164s 20. Robert Wickens Mucke Mercedes 1m28.253s + 1.377s 21. David Coulthard Mucke Mercedes 1m28.377s + 1.501s 22. Susie Wolff Persson Mercedes 1m28.842s + 1.966s
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| Series | DTM |
| Drivers | Edoardo Mortara |
| Author | Jamie O'Leary |
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