If this first free practice at the Sachsenring is anything to go by, then we are certainly in for a cracking third race weekend in the ADAC GT Masters. Just 1.036 seconds covered the 19 fastest super sports cars representing all eight manufacturers in the field early this Friday morning during the 60-minute free practice session. Frank Kechele and Dominik Schwager, now back in the ADAC GT Masters racing a Ford GT (Lambda Performance), took best time (1:21.865 min) from the BMW Z4 GT3 (PIXUM Team Schubert) driven by Max Sandritter and Jens Klingmann, who is standing in for Jörg Müller at the Sachsenring. Less than a blink of an eye separated the Ford and the fastest BMW; Kechele/Schwager were 0.002 seconds up on Sandritter/Haase.

Christopher Haase (Prosperia C.Abt Racing) is making an impressive return to the Super Sports Car League. The 2007 ADAC GT Masters champion, who is the most successful driver in the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring with four wins to his name, posted third fastest time with co-driver Rahel Frey in the Audi R8 LMS ultra. Christian Engelhart and Nicolas Armindo (Team Geyer & Weinig IT EDV Unternehmsberatung) were the fastest Porsche pair of drivers in the 911 GT3 R and placed fourth. Christopher Mies/René Rast (Prosperia C. Abt Racing) were fifth in the Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The winners of the last race in Spa-Francorchamps, Claudia Hürtgen and Dominik Baumann (PIXUM Team Schubert) took sixth place in the BMW Z4 GT3 from fellow BMW drivers and current championship leaders Simon Knap and Jeroen den Boer (DB Motorsport).

Defending champion Sebastian Asch was pleased with his result in free practice, setting the eighth fastest lap time together with Florian Stoll in the Audi R8 LMS ultra (MS RACING). Diego Alessi/Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition) were tenth in the best placed Z06.R Corvette GT3 behind the Porsche 911 GT3 of Robert Renauer/Martin Ragginger (Tonino powered by Herberth Motorsport).