Herberth Motorsport led the way in Saturday morning's Free Practice at the Nürburgring thanks to Tim Heinemann, who posted a 1m55.249s at the wheel of the #92 Porsche. The time was set less than 10 minutes into the two-hour session and stood for the remainder.
Jens Klingmann was second fastest in the #777 AlManar Racing by WRT BMW, 0.048s shy of the benchmark. Like the leading Porsche, the BMW competes in the Gold Cup class. Maxime Martin was third in the #9 Boutsen VDS Mercedes-AMG, 0.092s adrift of Heinemann.
HRT Ford Performance produced a superb showing at the team's home event by placing fourth and fifth overall. The Silver Cup car was marginally faster thanks to David Schumacher, who edged the sister Pro entry of Arjun Maini by 0.016s. Dan Harper was sixth overall to put Paradine Competition on top of the Bronze Cup classification with its #991 BMW.
The session was run in dry conditions and without any stoppages, though it concluded under a full-course yellow after Sai Sanjay hit the barriers in the #112 CSA Racing McLaren. The car was removed by marshalls, requiring a neutralisation for the final few minutes.
In a late change to the entry list, Chris Froggatt has stood down from the Ziggo Sport Tempesta line-up due to a medical issue. His place aboard the #93 Ferrari will be taken by Lorenzo Patrese, who was the team's fourth driver at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.
Cars will be back on-track at 14:25 CEST for a one-hour Pre-Qualifying session. Live coverage will air on the GT World YouTube channel.
> RESULTS: Free Practice