The absolute best time of the day was set in the fourth and final session by Porsche driver Klaus Bachler in the new 911 GT3 R fielded by KÜS Team75 Bernhard. Bachler was the only driver to crack the 1:24 mark with a time of 1:23.919 minutes. “The day was good,” said the 27-year-old Austrian who shares a cockpit with FIA WEC champion Timo Bernhard. “We got a lot done today and did some useful work on qualifying with an eye to the race weekend in under three weeks from now. Everything worked well. I was using fresh tyres, and in any case, the lap was also very good. I had a completely free track and I managed to get it all together. I’m feeling upbeat, but the competition is strong again this year. It will only count at the season opener.”
Second fastest on Monday was Corvette driver Marvin Kirchhöfer with a time of 1:24.304 minutes. “We tried a lot of things out today,” said Kirchhöfer, who was the fastest in the third session. “The car felt good, but it’s always difficult to tell where you really stand, as many of the teams are playing their cards close to their chest. The partnership with my new team-mate Markus Pommer is going great. We are a good match, and we are working out a setup that suits us both.”
Mann-Filter Team HTP also had a good first day. Indy Dontje and Maximilian Götz set the third-best time on Monday with a lap of 1:24.305 minutes, while their rookie team-mate Fabian Vettel surprised everyone by posting the second-fastest time in Session 2, just behind Thomas Preining, another series newcomer. Preining from Austria is the new team-mate of defending champion Robert Renauer in the Porsche 911 GT3 R entered by Precote Herberth Motorsport.
The best time on Monday morning and the fifth fastest time of the day went to Ferrari: Luca Ludwig and Sebastian Asch in the 488 GT3 of HB Racing opened the proceedings by topping the timesheets.
Test 1
1. Luca Ludwig & Sebastian Asch, HB Racing, Ferrari, 1:24.533 mins
2. Carrie Schreiner & Dennis Marschall, HCB-Rutronik Racing, Audi, 1:24.607 mins
3. Markus Pommer & Marvin Kirchhöfer, Callaway Racing, Corvette, 1:24.702 mins
4. Max Hofer & Christopher Mies, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi, 1:24.742 mins
5. Jeffrey Schmidt & Christopher Haase, BWT Mücke Motorsport, Audi, 1:24.836 mins
Test 2
1. Robert Renauer & Thomas Preining, Precote Herberth Motorsport, Porsche, 1:24.492 mins
2. Fabian Vettel & Philip Ellis, Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.885 mins
3. Filip Salaquarda & Frank Stippler, Team ISR, Audi, 1:24.980 mins
4. Max Hofer & Christopher Mies, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi, 1:25.078 mins
5. Sven Barth & David Jahn, RWT Racing, Corvette, 1:25.089 mins
Test 3
1. Markus Pommer & Marvin Kirchhöfer, Callaway Racing, Corvette, 1:24.304 mins
2. Indy Dontje & Maximilian Götz, Mann-Filter Team HTP, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.425 mins
3. Remo Lips, Maximilian Hackländer & Ezquiel Perez-Companc, Audi, 1:24.675 mins
4. Filip Salaquarda & Frank Stippler, Team ISR, Audi, 1:24.701 mins
5. Robert Renauer & Thomas Preining, Precote Herberth Motorsport, Porsche, 1:24.778 mins
Test 4
1. Klaus Bachler & Timo Bernhard, KÜS Team75 Bernhard, Porsche, 1:23.919 mins
2. Filip Salaquarda & Frank Stippler, Team ISR, Audi, 1:24.543 mins
3. Jeffrey Schmidt & Christopher Haase, BWT Mücke Motorsport, Audi, 1:24.578 mins
4. Michele Beretta & Marco Mapelli, ORANGE1 by GRT Grasser, Lamborghini, 1:24.648 mins
5. Ricardo Feller & Dries Vanthoor, Montaplast by Land-Motorsport, Audi, 1:24.680 mins