Audi Ends Friday on Top at Nürburgring

Audi has shown the early pace at the Nürburgring, as the No. 7 R18 e-tron quattro topped the time charts in Friday’s two Free Practice sessions.

Benoit Tréluyer put in a 1:37.862 right at the end of the afternoon’s 90-minute session, with the Porsche 919 Hybrids of Mark Webber and Neel Jani right on his tail in second and third, both within one-tenth.

It wasn’t a faultless session for the No. 7 Audi though, as Tréluyer beached his car in Turn 1 early on, followed by a lengthy stay in the pitlane.

While Audi and Porsche look set to deliver a good battle on Sunday, Toyota was once again off the pace, more than 2.5 seconds behind pacesetter Tréluyer.

Contrary to this morning, track conditions were dry and temperatures optimal.

G-Drive Racing continued to dominate LMP2, with Sam Bird 1.6 seconds clear of the rest of the field and Strakka again in P3 with its new Gibson 015S Nissan.

Aston Martin Racing turned around a slow morning into the fastest time in the quicker afternoon session, as Richie Stanaway narrowly preceded the No. 51 AF Corse Ferrari F458 Italia of Gianmaria Bruni and Toni Vilander with 0.038 seconds.

No other major incidents were reported in either of today’s sessions.

Free Practice 3 gets underway Saturday at 9.30 a.m. local time, followed by Qualifying in the afternoon.

RESULTS: Free Practice 2