Valentino Catalano (19/Westheim) and Oscar Tunjo (29/COL, both Badischer Motorsport Club) ended the first free practice session of the Prototype Cup Germany at the top of the timing sheet. They were 0.034 seconds faster at the Norisring than Jacob Erlbacher (24/Böblingen) and Jérémy Siffert (21/SUI, both Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport). Championship leaders Danny Soufi (21/USA) and Pavel Lefterov (27/BUL, both Konrad Motorsport) were third fastest.
“The track is very bumpy,” was Siffert’s reaction after his first few metres of the Norisring. These were not only the first laps of the street circuit in Nuremberg for the Swiss driver, but also his first outing with a Duqueine chassis. “Given all that, it actually went really well. However, that was just FP1 – you don’t win anything in that session. We have made a good start to the weekend and must now continue to work on our performance, as the others will also improve.” He has a clear goal for the weekend: “I want to finish on the podium with Jacob. That would be awesome at my first major event like the one here with the DTM.”
Things did not run quite so smoothly for BWT Mücke Motorsport, whose cars finished fifth and sixth, just behind Maxim Dirickx (21/BEL) and Sven Barth (44/Eberbach, both Aust Motorsport). However, they are not too concerned. “This is my first time here and I must first get used to the circuit – and find the best line between all the bumps,” said Riccardo Leone Cirelli (17/ITA), who was fifth fastest alongside Mattias Bjerre Jakobsen (18/DEN, both BWT Mücke Motorsport). His team-mate Mattis Pluschkell (20/Elmenhorst) does know the Norisring, but he does not necessarily see that as an advantage in this case. “I was here with ADAC GT4 Germany last year, but you have to drive completely differently in a GT4 car here than in an LMP3. As such, I must first delete a lot from my head and then relearn it. However, I was expecting that to be the case.” Pluschkell and his partner Maksymilian Angelard (17/POL, BWT Mücke Motorsport) were sixth in Free Practice 1.
Two places below them was the pairing of Michael Herich (47/Brühl) and Alexzander Kristiansson (25/SWE, both Gebhardt Intralogistics Motorsport), a mere 0.06 seconds behind seventh-placed Thomas Ambiel (45/Eppingen, Rinaldi Racing). Kristiansson is enjoying starting at the Norisring for the first time in his career. “The circuit is great and the atmosphere is really special. The walls are very close to the track and you have to get very close to them if you want to be quick. Then you have all the bumps to contend with too – they don’t make it any easier. I have to admit that the Norisring is tougher than it looks from the layout.” However, he does see one advantage: “It is a very short track, so we get to do a lot of laps here. And you learn a bit more with every lap you complete.”
