Engel Tops Delayed and Shortened Zandvoort FP2

Maro Engel completed a sweep of Friday’s Free Practice running for the DTM round at Zandvoort, setting the fastest time in a shortened and delayed second session.

Engel posted a best lap of 1:33.543 aboard his No. 48 Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

The time stood as the German’s fastest lap across both sessions, comparing favorably to the 1:34.049 he set during the opening Free Practice session on Friday afternoon.

Engel outpaced Team Project 1 driver Marco Wittmann by 0.060 seconds, while Kelvin van der Linde completed the top three for ABT Sportsline.

The start of the session was delayed by an nearly hour due to a crash in the preceding Porsche Carrera Cup Benelux practice session, which required barrier repairs.

As a result of the delays, the session was shortened from 45 minutes to 32 minutes.

When track action resumed, Van der Linde’s No. 3 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II sat at the top of times for a significant period.

He was first knocked down to second by Wittmann, until Engel’s flying lap in the closing stages resulted in the No. 48 Mercedes-AMG topping the session.

Mirko Bortolotti came fourth aboard the No. 92 SSR Performance Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, while Sheldon van der Linde completed the top five.

Laurin Heinrich slotted into sixth aboard the No. 75 KÜS Team Bernhard Porsche 911 GT3 R, leading the second Landgraf-operated Mercedes-AMG driven by Jusuf Owega.

The top ten was rounded out by Luca Stolz, Thomas Preining and Patric Niederhauser.

Qualifying for the opening race at Zandvoort takes place Saturday at 9:35 a.m. CEST (3:35 a.m. ET).

RESULTS: Free Practice 2