OSCHERSLEBEN, Germany A successful start to the season for Maro Engel (Monaco) of the Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing.

Last years third-place finisher set the fastest qualifying time on Friday at the Börde circuit with a time of 1:22.321 minutes.

We worked on the cars balance and made significant improvements over the course of the day. It was important to optimize our setup for qualifying. It will be a hot and close motorsport weekend at the start of the season, as is typical in the DTM, explained Engel.

Jordan Pepper (ZA) in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 finished second, 0.117 seconds behind. His fellow driver Maximilian Paul (Dresden) of Paul Motorsport completed the 3.667-kilometer circuit in 1:22.546 minutes, placing him in third place.

The entire team has taken a step forward. Oschersleben suits the Lamborghini, which is very agile and has good braking. Qualifying will be crucial, as overtaking is very difficult here, revealed the Dresden native. Jules Gounon (F) of the Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter finished just behind in fourth place.

Thomas Preining (A) was the best Porsche driver in fifth place, also setting the fastest time in the morning session.

Oschersleben is one of my favorite circuits. I drove here during my time in the ADAC Formula 4 and always felt comfortable. The Porsche handles these tight sections well, but well see where we really stand on Saturday in qualifying and then in the race, said the Manthey EMA driver.

The second free practice session in the afternoon, at temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius, was faster than the first.

Twelve drivers broke the 1:23.000-minute markmore than twice as many as in the morning. Spectators witnessed a thrilling battle with late lead changes.

Engel took his time, got the new Pirelli slick tires into the optimal working window, and with his top time, pushed Paul, who had been the leader up until then, out of the lead with seven minutes to go. Pepper only secured second place with just under 90 seconds remaining in the second free practice session.