Werner tops DTM Hockenheim practice

BMW driver Dirk Werner set the pace in free practice for the final round of the DTM at Hockenheim on Saturday morning.

The German was not a regular fixture near the top of the timesheets, but took his Schnitzer Motorsport M3 around in a pace-setting 1m33.292s with four minutes remaining.

His lap knocked Adrien Tambay's Abt Audi off the top spot by 0.174s. 2012 champion Bruno Spengler made it Schnitzer cars first and third with a late lap.

A flurry of fast times around the 75-minute mark drastically changed the order. Zandvoort polesitter Marco Wittmann went fastest but fell to fourth by the finish, one spot ahead of his MTEK BMW team-mate Timo Glock.

New champion Mike Rockenfeller was sixth with Phoenix Audi team-mate Miguel Molina right behind and the fellow RS5s of Edoardo Mortara (Rosberg) and Timo Scheider (Abt) next up.

Martin Tomczyk, the 2011 champion, led briefly, but was knocked back to 10th by the end in his RMG BMW.

Mercedes filled five of the bottom six positions with HWA driver Robert Wickens - 17th - going off at the Sachs Kurve with two minutes to go and coming to a stop next to the tyre barriers.