DTM
Pole for DTM champion Bruno Spengler…
Spielberg. Reigning DTM champion Bruno Spengler (BMW) celebrated his maiden pole position of the season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. In the final qualifying heat, the Canadian completed his lap at the 4.326 kilometres long track in the hills in 1:24.836 minutes. “One can never have enough pole positions. It was a great day with a great car. But this was only 50 percent of the work. The rest has to follow tomorrow,” said Spengler, who will be starting from first place on the grid in the DTM for the 15th time in his career already.
Spengler’s fellow BMW driver and DTM rookie Marco Wittmann sparked a surprise by claiming second place on the grid. The 23-year old German only came 0.111 seconds short of the fastest time. “This is awesome. It was only my third qualifying in DTM, and I will be in second place at the start already,” Wittmann said.
Italian Edoardo Mortara eded up third. In 2012, the Audi driver had claimed pole position at Spielberg and then went on to win. “After my success from last year, third place on the grid is again a good result for me. In the first two races, things didn’t go too well and I am happy that we now have found the speed,” the 26-year old commented.
With his BMW M3 DTM, fourth-placed Augusto Farfus already made it into the final qualifying heat for the third consecutive time. The 2008 and 2009 DTM champion, Timo Scheider, claimed fifth place on the grid with his Audi RS 5 DTM ahead of fellow Audi driver Filipe Albuquerque.
Robert Wickens was the best-placed Mercedes-Benz driver in qualifying. The surprising third-placed from Brands Hatch will be starting seventh with his DTM Mercedes AMG C-Coupé. After qualifying, the Canadian said: “Unfortunately, I risked too much on my fast lap and I made a slight mistake. But in the DTM, that is already too much to be all the way at the top. Still, I am confident for the race, because the car is very good.”
Points’ leader Mike Rockenfeller ended up eighth in qualifying, but was dropped five positions on the grid as a penalty and will start from 13th place. In free practice, the Audi driver had disrespected a yellow flag and was penalised for it.
An overview of the tyre choice of each driver for the start of the race can be found at www.dtm.com in the evening. Drivers can choose between the standard tyre or the option tyre from series’ partner Hankook, which can only be used during the race. The third season round covers 47 laps and 203.322 kilometres and will start on Sunday at 13.30 hrs. ARD is already broadcasting live from 13.15 hrs.