Nurburgring – Friday First Session
Routine Start

Pole here last year was Nic Minassian’s 1:44.850: 30 minutes into this first session, under overcast skies, and Pedro Lamy was fastest in #8 Peugeot, a 1:46.455 – so plenty more to come from the diesels, and everyone else.

Jean-Marc Gounon topped the times from the start, and was still second, splitting the 908s after half an hour – at which point Stuart Moseley in the Bruichladdich Radical was fifth fastest. He had been second overall, before others got going.

Warren Hughes made it a Radical 1-2 in P2, tenth overall at half-way in session 1.

“Our test at Rockingham went very well,” says Neil Cunningham at Embassy, “so we’re looking for good things this weekend.”

So the early order was Lamy, Gounon, Gene, Collard, Moseley – then the Creation in sixth.

The two Saleens were 1-2 in GT1, Oreca from Racing Box, while GT2 was the Virgo Ferrari (2:00.752) from the Lieb / Pompidou Porsche, then Johnny Mowlem in the #83 GPC Ferrari. The IMSA Porsche later took third, this the only car on Michelins in GT2.

Gene was then the first man into the 45s, a 1:45.982, Lamy second on his 1:46.455.

Quicker times at the end of the session?

Nic Minassian then got into the #7 908, but didn’t improve, and with ten minutes left, the Peugeots are the only cars in the 45s / 46s so far, Gounon’s 47.113 still best of the rest, Moseley’s time still the best in P2, with Tim Greaves now in #21.

The Radicals are still 1-2 (Moseley still fifth, Hughes now 11th) – but this is only the first session.

Five minutes to go and it’s been a good, settling-in session, so we’ll post this brief report and return with more comments in due course. All the times next... well, most of them anyway, we haven't got a third timing screen, and aren't convinced that the times are right.