BMW‘s Joel Eriksson was quickest in the second DTM Series practice session at the Hockenheimring.
Team-mate Augusto Farfus was second with championship contender Gary Paffett in third.
Just three thousandths of a second separated the trio at the top of the timings, with the top five split by just 0.096s.
Third placed man in the championship René Rast was fifth fastest with him needing a strong day to make up ground in the standings.
However, championship leader Paul di Resta was down in fifteenth and will be keen to avoid a repeat performance in qualifying and the race if he is to maintain his advantage.
Four points separate di Resta and Paffett in the championship, with Rast 30 points down on di Resta with 58 on offer this weekend.
Behind Rast, in sixth was Timo Glock who won Race 2 here earlier this year after a mammoth battle with Paffett.
Mercedes‘ Pascal Wehrlein was seventh.
Audi trio Jamie Green, Robin Frijns and Loïc Duval rounded off the top ten.
The entire field was spread by just 0.753 seconds, showing just how close it is out there meaning it is still all to play for heading into qualifying and the race.
Qualifying for Race 1 of the weekend gets underway at 10.55 local time, ahead of the race getting underway at 13.30.
2018 DTM Series Results: Hockenheim II – Free Practice Two
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