Sheldon van der Linde sets the pace after three days of testing

Sheldon van der Linde ended three days of TCR Germany testing at Oschersleben as the fastest driver, putting his Audi three tenths clear at the top of the combined timesheets.

A total of 31 different drivers took part in the three days of testing, out of an entry list of 44 cars for the opening round.

Notable absentees included reigning champion Josh Files, who did not take to the track in the Honda he raced last year.

In the end it was South African van der Linde who set the pace, with the fastest time of 1 minute 34.048 seconds being set on Monday in the second test session.

“It was a really good test for us, of course it was a new car, and we still have a lot to learn,” said van der Linde. “It was good and important to drive so many laps.”

“Everything is going very well here, but we do not know where we stand, so we’ll have to see in the first qualifying and race at Oschersleben. I can hardly wait for it.”

Honda Sachsen’s Steve Kirsch was the closest to the Audi driver in second, over three tenths further back with a lap set on Tuesday.

The TCR Germany season opener takes place at Oschersleben on the 28^th to 30^th April.

Combined session results

POS	NO	DRIVER	NAT	ENTRANT	CAR	LAPS	TIME	GAP
1	18	Sheldon van der Linde		PROsport Performance	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	79	1:34.048	0.000
2	41	Steve Kirsch		Team Honda ADAC Sachsen	Honda Civic TCR	117	1:34.407	0.359
3	44	Sandro Kaibach		Steibel Motorsport	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	70	1:34.751	0.703
4	39	Florian Thoma		Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR	119	1:34.768	0.720
5	28	Pascal Eberle		Steibel Motorsport	SEAT León TCR	103	1:34.769	0.721
6	54	Simon Reicher		Certainty Racing Team	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	104	1:34.785	0.737
7	14	Niels Langeveld		Racing One	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	79	1:34.832	0.784
8	8	Luca Engstler		Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR	126	1:34.855	0.807
9	24	Robin Brezina		Aust Motorsport	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	109	1:35.015	0.967
10	88	Moritz Oestreich		Team Honda ADAC Sachsen	Honda Civic Type R TCR	129	1:35.050	1.002
11	82	Thomas Kramwinkel		GermanFLAVOURS Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	94	1:35.067	1.019
12	40	Dillon Koster		Certainty Racing Team	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	63	1:35.278	1.230
13	38	Jason Wolfe		Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR	93	1:35.405	1.357
14	22	Harald Proczyk		HP Racing	SEAT León TCR	108	1:35.616	1.568
15	19	Max Hofer		PROsport Performance	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	41	1:35.643	1.595
16	17	Jasmin Preisig		Lubner Motorsport	Opel Astra TCR	112	1:35.649	1.601
17	2	Alex Morgan		Wolf-Power Racing	SEAT León TCR	49	1:35.685	1.637
18	13	Kai Jordan		Racing One	Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR	72	1:35.712	1.664
19	42	Lukas Niedertscheider		Niedertscheider MSP	SEAT León TCR	90	1:35.855	1.807
20	36	Dino Calcum		Lubner Motorsport	Opel Astra TCR	125	1:35.881	1.833
21	64	Sven Markert		GermanFLAVOURS Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	105	1:35.887	1.839
22	66	Ronny Jost		TOPCAR Sport	SEAT León TCR	62	1:35.961	1.913
23	10	Antti Buri		LMS Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	26	1:36.032	1.984
24	23	Sebastian Steibel		Steibel Motorsport	Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR	105	1:36.034	1.986
25	9	Stefan Goede		Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR	152	1:36.348	2.300
26	35	Rudolf Rhyn		TOPCAR Sport	SEAT León TCR	20	1:36.444	2.396
27	7	Mike Halder		TBC	SEAT León TCR	59	1:36.545	2.497
28	4	Roland Poulsen		Liqui Moly Team Engstler	Volkswagen Golf Gti TCR	103	1:36.689	2.641
29	6	U rsinho		Wolf-Power Racing	SEAT León TCR	40	1:37.565	3.517
30	84	Maurits Sandberg		Racing One	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	126	1:37.682	3.634
31	20	Niko Kankkunen		LMS Racing	Audi RS3 LMS TCR	53	1:38.035	3.987