What the ADAC GT Masters driver had to say at the season opener of the ADAC GT Masters at Oschersleben after the first two free practice sessions.

Andreas Simonsen (# 42 HP Racing, Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3): "We hit on an excellent setup for our Mercedes straightaway. Also, the circuit is well suited to our car. I don´t think there´s another track on the calendar where our chances of finishing well up the field in qualifying are as good as here."

Patrick Assenheimer (#69 Callaway Competition, Corvette Z06.R GT3): "We´ve not yet fully understood the new tyres and are still at a loss. Conditions are very different to those of the test day two weeks ago. Temperatures are higher, which is very apparent in these track conditions. I´ve not run on a new set of tyres before today, so qualifying will be quite interesting."

Dominic Jöst (#22 MRS GT Racing, Nissan GT-R NISMO GT3): "Our best time during first free practice has only served to confirm our great performance from the test day which was held here recently. We like the Nissan, and it´s great to drive, but we know already that, as Gentlemen drivers, we will not finish quite so far up front in the other sessions. Naturally, we want to be a thorn in the sides of the top drivers, if possible."

Florian Stoll (#24 kfzteile24 MS RACING, Audi R8 LMS ultra): "It´s a shame, but we had to miss the second session. First, we had to rebuild the diff and finished too late. Then, unfortunately, we had a problem with the speed sensor. Still, we´ll be back in contention in qualifying."

Dominik Baumann (#80 BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert, BMW Z4 GT3): "Everything has gone well up so far, and we were pleased with practice. Now, we can´t wait to see how things go in qualifying."

Christian Engelhart (#36 GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport, Porsche 911 GT3 R): "The car sits really well and balance on the Pirelli tyres is good, but we´re too slow. We´re a second down and will probably not be able to up the pace as much as our opponents in qualifying."

Lennart Marioneck (#14 Senkyr Motorsport, BMW Z4 GT3): "I´ve not had any experience with the new tyres and on my out lap in first free practice, the rear end suddenly stepped out and I spun off, causing a fair bit of damage, unfortunately. Still, we´ll have the car fixed again before qualifying."

Nicki Thiim (#2 C Abt Racing, Audi R8 LMS ultra): "I´m satisfied with things so far. The car is good, even if track conditions are significantly different compared to those on test day. Our goal is to be the best Audi pair of the weekend."