Timo Glock has topped the first free practice session at the Hockenheimring in a damp session that saw several cars slide off the track.
Glock set the quickest time at the very end of the session, posting a 01:47:841 that put him 0.169s up on BMW colleague Marco Wittmann. Mike Rockenfeller was the quickest Audi in third, just under half a second behind Glock.
The session was affected by wet conditions, with the slippery Hockenheim surface getting the better of two of the SUPER GT runners. Both Nick Cassidy and Tsugio Matsuda got caught out, burying their Lexus and Nissan into the gravel at the Sachs Kurve.
Matsuda's 01:53:871 put him in eightheenth, some six seconds behind Glock, while Cassidy was last on the timing sheets as the Japanese guests look to find their footing on unfamiliar ground.
Jenson Button was the only one out of the three to keep his car out of trouble, setting the sixteenth time in his Honda NSX-GT.
Newly crowned DTM champion Rene Rast also had a spin on track, but he was unable to continue en route to fifth behind Sheldon van der Linde. Jake Dennis was the quickest of the R-Motorsport Aston Martin.
The Briton set a 01:48:681, which was enough to hand him sixth place. The top ten was completed by Joel Eriksson, Robin Frijns, Nico Müller and Paul di Resta.
Matsuda and Cassidy will not return to the car when the second free practice session commences at 16:30 local time. Instead, they will hand over to their team-mates.
Ronnie Quintarella will take the wheel of the Motul Autech Nissan GT-R, while Ryo Hirakawa takes over the wheel of the Lexus Team KeePer TOM's Lexus LC500.
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