HRT Fastest Again in Night Practice Despite Penalty

Arjun Maini and Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein topped the timing sheets again during night practice for the Nürburgring 24 despite the leading car incurring a penalty.

After setting the pace in the first qualifying practice session on Thursday afternoon, Maini went fastest overall in the three-and-a-half-hour evening run that ended at 11:30 p.m. and included night running.

The Indian driver steered the No. 6 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to a time of 8:13.190 early in the session — an improvement of just over 1.5 seconds — before slow zones started to impact the lap and before the sun had set.

However, the same Haupt Racing Team-operated Bilstein machine later incurred a penalty when Hubert Haupt broke the 60 km/h pit lane speed limit by 2.2 km/h (1.36 mph) as he was heading for the track.

It was announced that the car’s best lap time would be deleted, but Maini’s number remained at the top of the leaderboard after the checkered flag because the deletion will apply to the No. 6 Mercedes-AMG’s fastest lap across all qualifying practice sessions.

With one more qualifying practice still to run before the Top Qualifying shootout, it is yet to be determined which of the No. 6 Mercedes-AMG’s times will be erased.

“It always feels good to be on top,” said Maini. “But in the end, it’s just preparation for the big race at the weekend.”

Frederic Makowiecki finished second on Thursday evening courtesy of his early 8:13.469 marker behind the wheel of the Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Ricardo Feller came through in third for Scherer Sport PHX after posting a time of 8:15.009 in the No. 16 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

About 45 minutes into the session, Mercedes-AMG Team Bilstein driver Raffaele Marciello produced an 8:15.779 that ended up being the fourth-best time of the night.

A notable incident during night practice was an accident for the Konrad Motorsport Huracan GT3 Evo which incurred significant damage that required extensive repairs in the garage.

As sunset approached, Pavel Lefterov and the No. 184 KKramer Racing Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport came together coming out of Galgenkopf. The contact caused the Lamborghini to pitch left into the barriers where its right-rear wheel detached.

Team owner Franz Konrad said during the session that the chassis “survived” but his team’s mechanics are nonetheless facing a long night to get the car repaired for Friday.

Another casualty was the No. 130 Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR DSG from Sharky Racing by MSC which suffered damage from an engine fire after stopping in the Grand Prix section.

RESULTS: Qualifying 1 & 2 (combined) / Q2 Laps Per Car