Maro Engel paced this afternoon's Pre-Qualifying at the Nürburgring, putting Winward Racing Team Mann-Filter at the head of the order with a 1m39.257s.
The #48 Mercedes-AMG led a top five featuring as many different brands. The #6 Lamborghini from Liqui-Moly Team Engstler by OneGroup was second overall and also led the Gold Cup thanks to Luca Engstler's time of 1m39.403s.
Third spot went to the championship-leading #32 Team WRT BMW of Dries Vanthoor, followed by Giacomo Altoè in the #69 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari. Both of these cars were outside the top 10 in Free Practice, but returned to familiar form during this afternoon's run.
The #25 Saintéloc Racing Audi was fifth, the same position it occupied in the morning session, followed by the #78 Barwell Motorsport Lamborghini. The British squad paced the Bronze Cup thanks to Squadra Corse ace Sandy Mitchell, who was three tenths shy of Engel's benchmark.
Eliseo Donno was seventh overall and the best of the Silver Cup runners aboard the #71 AF Corse Ferrari. Having missed the previous event at Misano, the Italian squad will hope to maintain this form and reignite its title assault.
Next up were two more Ferrari runners – the #93 Sky Tempesta Racing and the #14 Emil Frey Racing – with the top 10 completed by the #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche. The latter was quickest in Free Practice, but appeared to be less focussed on one-lap pace during Pre-Qualifying. Notably, Sven Müller's time of 1m39.022s was not troubled this afternoon.
The one-hour session featured 31 cars, with the #99 Tresor Attempto Racing Audi not turning a lap. The #51 Racing Team Turkey Ferrari, which would have been driven by Salih Yoluç and Charlie Eastwood, has withdrawn from the event.
Track action resumes tomorrow morning at 09:50 CEST with Qualifying 1, which sets the grid for Race 1 at 14:15. Live streaming will be available for both on the GT World YouTube channel.
> RESULT: Pre-Qualifying, Hockenheim 2024