Mercedes drivers Maximilian Buhk and Franck Perera edged closer to the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup title with victory in Saturday's Nurburgring qualifying race.
Perera finished second on the road behind Ezekiel Perez Companc in the #19 Lamborghini Huracan GT3, but the leader was dealt a one-second time penalty for cutting the chicance.
That promoted Perera and Buhk to their first BGTS Sprint win since the Misano season opener, and extended their points lead over title rivals Marcel Fassler and Dries Vanthoor to four points with only Sunday's main race remaining.
WRT drivers Fassler and Vanthoor, having led each of the pre-event practice sessions in their Audi R8 LMS, crossed the line third.
The pair finished less than a second ahead of the Bentley Continental GT3 driven by Andy Soucek and Maxime Soulet, which ran well in the top five all afternoon.
Buhk started the one-hour contest from eighth on the grid, but moved into the lead during the opening stint.
Perez Companc, taking over from Andrea Caldarelli, then shot in front during the round of mandatory pit stops, reversing a five second deficit to the Mercedes crew.
The Lamborghini maintained its lead but came under extreme pressure from Perera and Fassler behind, while Soulet soon joined the party to create a four-way manufacturer tussle.
Soulet almost found a way past Fassler with the pair going side-by-side during the final two minutes, but the Audi driver held sway to limit the championship damage by finishing close behind the Buhk/Perera car.
Lamborghini's title-challenging pair of Mirko Bortolotti and Christian Engelhart finished down in 19th after Bortolotti suffered a spin on the opening lap.
There was also drama for the front-row starting McLaren 650S GT3 of Andrew Watson and Rob Bell, which finished down in 16th after taking damage in contact with a WRT Audi at the first corner.
Silver Cup honours went to the Fabien Schiller/Jules Szymkowiak HTP Motorsport Mercedes, while Daniel Keilwitz and Alexander Mattschull claimed Pro-Am victory in their Rinaldi Racing Ferrari.
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