Fabian Schiller put Mercedes-AMG Team GetSpeed at the top of the order in Free Practice 2 (FP2) as the GT World Challenge (GTWC) Europe Endurance Cup field completed its Saturday running at the Nürburgring.
Schiller produced a 1:54.962 early in the 90-minute session and remained unbeaten to secure top spot for the local squad. Dries Vanthoor provided the closest challenge in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW, while Mattia Drudi completed the top three for Comtoyou Racing.
The session also produced strong performances from several class contenders, with Paradine Competition, Team WRT and Garage 59 leading the Bronze, Silver and Gold Cup classifications respectively.
Early lap puts Schiller beyond reach
Schiller established the benchmark with the session barely 10 minutes old, taking the #17 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO to a 1:54.962. The German’s early effort proved decisive. Although drivers continued to improve throughout the session, nobody managed to dislodge the GetSpeed entry from the top of the timing screens.
Schiller shares the #17 Mercedes-AMG with Maxime Martin and Maximilian Götz, and their FP2 performance followed an encouraging sixth-place showing during the opening practice session. Dries Vanthoor came closest to challenging Schiller. Returning to Endurance Cup competition for the first time since the Circuit Paul Ricard season opener, the Belgian recorded a 1:55.174 in the #991 Paradine Competition BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
That left Vanthoor 0.212s behind Schiller but comfortably placed the Paradine entry at the head of the Bronze Cup order. Mattia Drudi followed only 0.006s further back in third for the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin. Drudi’s 1:55.180 kept the Aston Martin within 0.218s of the outright benchmark on a weekend in which the team needs a strong result to maintain its Endurance Cup title challenge.
Sven Müller continued Rutronik Racing’s strong showing by taking fourth in the #97 Porsche 911 GT3 R EVO. Müller finished 0.240s behind Schiller and only 0.022s away from Drudi, while also placing the Bronze Cup entry second in its class.
Team WRT leads closely fought Silver Cup battle
Team WRT again set the Silver Cup benchmark with its #30 BMW after leading the class during FP1. Ignacio Montenegro recorded a 1:55.347 to take fifth overall and first in Silver, continuing a promising opening day for a crew that entered the weekend with the opportunity to wrap up the class championship.
However, Team RJN kept the WRT car under pressure. The #23 McLaren 720S GT3 EVO finished sixth overall and second in the Silver Cup with a 1:55.353, leaving just 0.006s between the two class rivals. The #3 Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing entry took seventh overall, having already finished third during FP1. Jules Gounon set the car’s best FP2 time at 1:55.434, keeping the Mercedes-AMG within half a second of Schiller’s benchmark.
Benji Goethe led the Gold Cup in eighth overall with the #58 Garage 59 McLaren. His 1:55.438 placed the car just 0.004s behind the Verstappen Racing Mercedes-AMG. Winward Racing’s #87 Mercedes-AMG took ninth and remained among the leading Bronze Cup contenders, while Garage 59 placed its #59 Pro-class McLaren 10th to complete a strong session for the British squad.
HRT Ford Racing narrowly missed the top 10 in 11th with the #64 Ford Mustang, while the #12 GetSpeed Team Dubai Mercedes-AMG followed in 12th and third in the Bronze Cup classification.
Sette Camara brings running to an early end
The most notable incident of FP2 involved Sergio Sette Camara in the #11 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin. Sette Camara lost control of the car before reaching Turn 11 and made light contact with the barriers. The incident ended his participation in the session, although it did not prevent the sister #7 Aston Martin from finishing third overall.
Official timing listed wet conditions at both the start and finish of FP2, adding another element for teams to consider as they worked through their final preparations ahead of Sunday. With Mercedes-AMG, BMW, Aston Martin, Porsche and McLaren all represented within the leading group, FP2 provided no evidence of a runaway favourite for the remainder of the weekend.
Schiller and GetSpeed nevertheless ended Saturday with the outright benchmark, while Vanthoor, Drudi and Müller showed that several teams remained within striking distance. Attention now turns to Sunday, beginning with qualifying at 09:45. The grid-setting session will offer a clearer indication of the outright competitive order before the three-hour Endurance Cup race gets underway at 15:00.
GTWC Europe Endurance Cup Nürburgring FP2 full results
