Time to get down to some serious business: In the official ADAC GT Masters preseason tests at the Motorsport Arena Oschersleben, the teams and drivers have the opportunity to square up to each other under competitive conditions in preparation for the upcoming season. In the first of six test sessions scheduled for 4th and 5th April, the fastest lap of 1:27.294 minutes was set by ADAC GT Masters newcomer Laurens Vanthoor (24, B) in an Audi R8 LMS entered by kfzteile24 - APR Motorsport.

"That was a good first test," said Vanthoor. "I really put my foot down. Apart from that, I feel at home with my new team. I already know the Audi well from several races in 2015 and various tests. Also, I'm familiar with the Oschersleben track from my time in Formula 3. I'm looking forward to the remaining test sessions and above all to the start of the season in two weeks."

In second and third place were Jules Gounon (21, FRA) in a Callaway Competition Corvette C7 GT3 and Marco Bonanomi (31, ITA) in another Audi R8 LMS, this time entered by Aust Motorsport, trailing by four and a half and seven tenths of a second respectively. This result means that two of the six new super sports cars on the 2016 ADAC GT Masters grid have immediately established themselves in the Top Three. The defending champions Luca Ludwig (27, GER) and Sebastian Asch (29, GER) in their Team Zakspeed Mercedes AMG GT3 were fifth fastest.

There will be two more sessions this afternoon (4th April) and three tomorrow (5th April).