BMW Team RBM’s Joel Eriksson went fastest with a late lap in a tight second Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters practice session, with the top three separated by just three thousandths.
Audi’s Nico Müller had set the benchmark in the half-hour session, closely followed by title contender René Rast, but late improvements from Eriksson, Augusto Farfus and Gary Paffett put them in the top three positions.
A yellow flag in the final minute of second practice put a stop to the last-gasp efforts, as Marco Wittmann locked up at the banked turn 13, skating through the gravel and into the barrier.
Simultaneously, Audi’s Robin Frijn’s spun at the penultimate corner, meaning quicker laps in the session could not be set and Eriksson’s time of 1:32.914 remained fastest by just two and three thousandths from Farfus and Paffett respectively.
The Audi duo of Müller and Rast were fourth and fifth ahead of Timo Glock and Pascal Wehrlein.
Rast’s Audi Sport Team Rosberg teammate Jamie Green was eighth after a strong showing in opening practice yesterday, and headed a trio of Audi’s with Robin Frijns and early pacesetter Loïc Duval rounding out the top ten.
Although just over a tenth of a second separated the top ten, championship leader Paul Di Resta again struggled in 15th, with a time 0.574s adrift of Eriksson.
Qualifying for the first DTM race at Hockenheim for the season finale is next up, scheduled to get underway at 09:55 CEST – although it is likely to start later.
Session results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 47 | Joel ERIKSSON |  |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 13 | 1:32.914 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 15 | Augusto FARFUS |  |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 14 | 1:32.916 | 0.002 |
| 3 | 2 | Gary PAFFETT |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 14 | 1:32.917 | 0.003 |
| 4 | 51 | Nico MÜLLER |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1:32.959 | 0.045 |
| 5 | 33 | René RAST |  |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 15 | 1:33.010 | 0.096 |
| 6 | 16 | Timo GLOCK | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 12 | 1:33.083 | 0.169 |
| 7 | 94 | Pascal WEHRLEIN | |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport PETRONAS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 13 | 1:33.117 | 0.203 |
| 8 | 53 | Jamie GREEN | |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 15 | 1:33.144 | 0.230 |
| 9 | 4 | Robin FRIJNS |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 15 | 1:33.172 | 0.258 |
| 10 | 28 | Loïc DUVAL |  |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 15 | 1:33.274 | 0.360 |
| 11 | 7 | Bruno SPENGLER |  |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 13 | 1:33.275 | 0.361 |
| 12 | 48 | Edoardo MORTARA |  |
SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 18 | 1:33.278 | 0.364 |
| 13 | 22 | Lucas AUER |  |
SILBERPFEIL Energy Mercedes-AMG Motorsport | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 13 | 1:33.322 | 0.408 |
| 14 | 99 | Mike ROCKENFELLER | |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 16 | 1:33.379 | 0.465 |
| 15 | 3 | Paul DI RESTA | |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 12 | 1:33.488 | 0.574 |
| 16 | 25 | Philipp ENG | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 13 | 1:33.504 | 0.590 |
| 17 | 23 | Daniel JUNCADELLA |  |
Mercedes-AMG Motorsport REMUS | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 12 | 1:33.528 | 0.614 |
| 18 | 11 | Marco WITTMANN | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 11 | 1:33.667 | 0.753 |