Photo: Vision Sport Agency
Daniel Keilwitz clocked a stunning time just 0.076 seconds shy of last year’s pole time to top Qualifying 2 for the Nürburgring 24 Hours in the No. 22 Wochenspiegel Team Monchau Ferrari 488 GT3.
In hot and sunny conditions, the Rinaldi Racing-run Ferrari lapped the Nordschleife in 8:14.591, stealing the top spot from Maro Engel’s No. 3 Black Falcon Mercedes AMG-GT3 in the closing minutes of the session.
The No. 1 Black Falcon Mercedes, also driven by 2016 pole man Engel, was another late improver to go second, but still 4.2 seconds behind Keilwitz’s Ferrari, the only GT3 example entered in the race.
As the track rubbered in, Augusto Farfus’s Q1 benchmark was quickly surpassed, although the Brazilian improved to fourth in the No. 43 BMW Team Schnitzer M6 GT3.
Maximillian Goetz made it three Mercedes in the top five in the No. 8 HARIBO Racing Team Mercedes-AMG, shading the best placed Audi, the No. 29 Team Land R8 LMS driven by Kelvin van der Linde, in sixth.
In the session’s only major incident, the No. 100 Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 spun into the barriers at Metzgesfeld and made it slowly back to the pits with heavy rear-end damage.
The Top-30 Qualifying session which decides the grid for the 24 Hours itself will take place at 7:50 p.m. local time.
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