Porsche, Mercedes-AMG and Audi occupy the top three positions. Thomas Preining and Christian Engelhart were fastest overall in the field features cars from six manufacturers.

Successful dress rehearsal: The ADAC GT Masters kicked off its 15th season with the official pre-season test in Oschersleben. The fastest man at the only showdown ahead of the opening race weekend of the German GT Championship, which takes place at the same venue, was Porsche works driver Thomas Preining (22/A), who lines up alongside last year’s champion Christian Engelhart (34/Starnberg, both Küs Team75 Bernhard). Just behind him was Jules Gounon (26/F, Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing) in the best-placed Mercedes-AMG and Audi Sport driver Dries Vanthoor (22/B, Team WRT). The new ADAC GT Masters season gets underway from 14th to 16th May. New TV partner NITRO is broadcasting all the races live and in full.

The two-day test included a total of five sessions with more than six hours of driving time. Between them, the 24 super sports cars, run by 18 teams, completed 3,140 laps, which is the equivalent of more than 11,500 kilometres. Thomas Preining, who shares the Porsche with reigning champion Christian Engelhart, set his fastest time of 1:23.779 minutes in the final session of the test. “It went very well,” said the Austrian. “I have settled into the new team nicely and the partnership with Christian is improving all the time. We used the test perfectly to find a set-up that suits us both. The car is running superbly and I am now looking forward to the race weekend.”

Just eleven thousandths of a second slower than Preining was former champion Jules Gounon, who is making his comeback in the ADAC GT Masters in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo run by Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing. “I am pleased to be back in the toughest national GT championship,” said the Frenchman, who shared the car with Constantin Schöll (22/A) during the test. “When you look at the small gaps, it is clear that the opposition is going to be very strong again this year. It is incredibly how evenly matched it was on both days.”

Dries Vanthoor was third in the fastest Audi, in which he alternated with Charles Weerts (20/B). The Belgian set his fastest time of 1:23.983 minutes on Wednesday morning. “We only drove on the second day, so we were a little surprised to be so fast so soon. However, the circuit is not new to us and the team knows what it is doing. That was a good start to the season for us, but the serious business only really gets started at the season-opener.”

Luca Stolz (25/Brachbach) and Maro Engel (35/Monte Carlo, both Toksport WRT) were fourth-fastest in another Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo. Engel had kicked off the dress rehearsal for the season-opener with the fastest time in the first session. Fifth place went to the Porsche driven by Klaus Bachler (29/A) and Simona De Silvestro (32/CH, both Precote Herberth Motorsport). Their team-mates Robert Renauer (36/Vierkirchen) and Sven Müller (29/Bingen am Rhein), and the pairing of last year’s champion Michael Ammermüller (35/Rotthalmünster) and Mathieu Jaminet (26/F, both SSR Performance), ensured that Porsche clocked the fastest times in a further two of the individual practice sessions.

Result of first session

1. Luca Stolz/Maro Engel, Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.696 min.

2. Michael Ammermüller/Mathieu Jaminet, SSR Performance, Porsche, 1:24.814 min.

3. Jules Gounon/Constantin Schöll, Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.885 min.

4. Mirko Bortolotti/Albert Costa Balboa, GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini, 1:24.929 min.

5. Rolf Ineichen/Franck Perera, GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini, 1:24.988 min.

Result of second session

1. Michael Ammermüller/Mathieu Jaminet, SSR Performance, Porsche, 1:24.342 min.

2. Maximilian Hackländer/Mick Wishofer, MRS GT-Racing, Porsche, 1:24.489 min.

3. Christian Engelhart/Thomas Preining, Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche, 1:24.609 min.

4. Jules Gounon/Constantin Schöll, Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.674 min.

5. Rolf Ineichen/Franck Perera, GRT Grasser Racing Team, Lamborghini, 1:24.738 min.

Result of third session

1. Charles Weerts/Dries Vanthoor, Team WRT, Audi, 1:23.983 min.

2. Luca Stolz/Maro Engel, Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.012 min.

3. Maximilian Hackländer/Mick Wishofer, MRS GT-Racing, Porsche, 1:24.204 min.

4. Michael Ammermüller/Mathieu Jaminet, SSR Performance, Porsche, 1:24.318 min.

5. Christian Engelhart/Thomas Preining, Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche, 1:24.322 min.

Result of fourth session

1. Robert Renauer/Sven Müller, Precote Herberth Motorsport, Porsche, 1:24.064 min.

2. Michael Ammermüller/Mathieu Jaminet, SSR Performance, Porsche, 1:24.145 min.

3. Luca Stolz/Maro Engel, Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.213 min.

4. Maximilian Buhk/Raffaele Marciello, Mann-Filter Team Landgraf – HTP/WWR, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.256 min.

5. Simona De Silvestro/Klaus Bachler, Precote Herberth Motorsport, Porsche, 1:24.260 min.

Result of fifth session

1. Christian Engelhart/Thomas Preining, Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche, 1:23.779 min.

2. Jules Gounon/Constantin Schöll, Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG, 1:23.790 min.

3. Jannes Fittje/Dylan Pereira, Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche, 1:24.026 min.

4. Jusuf Owega/Patric Niederhauser, Phoenix Racing, Audi, 1:24.410 min.

5. Maximilian Hackländer/Mick Wishofer, MRS GT-Racing, Porsche, 1:24.436 min.

Combined result

1. Christian Engelhart/Thomas Preining, Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche, 1:23.779 min.

2. Jules Gounon/Constantin Schöll, Team Zakspeed Mobil Krankenkasse Racing, Mercedes-AMG, 1:23.790 min.

3. Charles Weerts/Dries Vanthoor, Team WRT, Audi, 1:23.983 min.

4. Luca Stolz/Maro Engel, Toksport WRT, Mercedes-AMG, 1:24.012 min.

5. Jannes Fittje/Dylan Pereira, Küs Team Bernhard, Porsche, 1:24.026 min.