Christopher Haase again set the pace in the second qualifying session for the Nürburgring 24, while Laurens Vanthoor put the troubled No. 16 Porsche 911 GT3 R into Top Qualifying with a last-gasp effort.
Haase steered the No. 1 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II to a best lap of 8:10.580.
In the process, he improved significantly on the 8:14.162 that he set to lead the opening session earlier on Thursday.
The first 15 minutes of the session on Thursday evening were open exclusively to SP9 cars that had not yet secured a spot in Top Qualifying.
That meant that the opening phase of the three and a half hour session essentially turned into a shootout to determine the final five participants for Friday’s Top Qualifying.
Marco Mapelli laid down an early benchmark by setting an 8:11.647 in the No. 28 ABT Sportsline Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2, which was then improved on by Haase by a margin of 1.067 seconds.
Mapelli remained second, while the No. 16 Scherer Sport PHX Porsche captured a Top Qualifying spot in the dying seconds of the session thanks to Laurens Vanthoor.
After an early effort from Patric Niederhauser had the car in seventh, Vanthoor put in a 8:12.103 in the final lap of the session to capture third place.
That came after the car had missed practically all of the first session earlier on Thursday with a driveshaft issue.
The No. 27 Lamborghini and No. 34 Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo took the final Top Qualifying slots in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Vanthoor’s late effort dropped the No. 37 PROsport Racing Aston Martin to sixth, ahead of Kevin Estre’s No. 911 Manthey EMA Porsche.
Max Hofer was eighth in the No. 84 Eastalent Racing Audi, with the No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO and No. 64 HRT Ford Performance Mustang GT3 completing the overall top ten.
The No. 48 Black Falcon Team EAE Porsche, which had been strong in the opening qualifying session, crashed Metzgesfeld-Kallenhard section with Bronze-rated driver Mustafa Mehmet Kaya at the wheel, suffering significant front end damage in the process.
A Porsche spokesperson confirmed that Kaya was unhurt in the crash.
Late in the session, the No. 11 SR Motorsport by Schnitzelalm Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo was hit with a penalty for a Code 60 violation and will start from the back of the first starting group on Saturday.
Top Qualifying is scheduled for Friday at 1:20 p.m. CEST.
Report: Sportscar365.com
