In its second year with the Ford Mustang, the US manufacturer has reason to celebrate its first DTM pole position. Arjun Maini delivered a 1:19.750 for HRT and Ford to secure the top spot on the grid after already starting from second on Saturday. The Indian driver was 0.128 seconds faster than Ferrari pilot Matteo Cairoli from Emil Frey Racing.
"I cannot thank the team enough, really", said a delighted Maini, who secured the second DTM pole of his career after his 2024 success at Spielberg, which he achieved back then in an HRT Mercedes. "Considering where we were last year and the progress we have made: to have such good qualifyings in a row now, strong race results, and strong pace."
Nicki Thiim is lurking in third place, having set a qualifying record of 1:19.463 on Saturday. However, the times on Sunday were significantly slower, possibly due to the rain the previous day. Thiim was 0.157 seconds off pole in his Comtoyou Aston Martin. Fourth place went to rookie Finn Wiebelhaus in the second HRT Ford.
Both the Ford and the Aston Martin were slowed down slightly by the first Balance of Performance adjustment at the Lausitzring, but the result justifies the decisions made by the BoP officials, as seven different manufacturers will start from the first eight positions.
Fifth place went to Abt driver Luca Engstler (+0.243), the best-placed pilot in the new Lamborghini Temerario, followed by Thomas Preining as the strongest Porsche driver in sixth. The top representative for the brand with the star was Maro Engel (+0.258), who put his Winward Mercedes in seventh. This means he will start directly behind his arch-rival Preining following their Saturday duel.
The best BMW driver was Marco Wittmann, who was 0.330 seconds short in the Schubert BMW. "Finally starting from the top 10 again," said the Franconian with relief, who is in a good fourth place in the overall standings despite very consistent results. Qualifying is also only rarely a strength of the BMW M4 GT3 Evo this season.
"I cannot thank the team enough, really", said a delighted Maini, who secured the second DTM pole of his career after his 2024 success at Spielberg, which he achieved back then in an HRT Mercedes. "Considering where we were last year and the progress we have made: to have such good qualifyings in a row now, strong race results, and strong pace."
Nicki Thiim is lurking in third place, having set a qualifying record of 1:19.463 on Saturday. However, the times on Sunday were significantly slower, possibly due to the rain the previous day. Thiim was 0.157 seconds off pole in his Comtoyou Aston Martin. Fourth place went to rookie Finn Wiebelhaus in the second HRT Ford.
Both the Ford and the Aston Martin were slowed down slightly by the first Balance of Performance adjustment at the Lausitzring, but the result justifies the decisions made by the BoP officials, as seven different manufacturers will start from the first eight positions.
Fifth place went to Abt driver Luca Engstler (+0.243), the best-placed pilot in the new Lamborghini Temerario, followed by Thomas Preining as the strongest Porsche driver in sixth. The top representative for the brand with the star was Maro Engel (+0.258), who put his Winward Mercedes in seventh. This means he will start directly behind his arch-rival Preining following their Saturday duel.
The best BMW driver was Marco Wittmann, who was 0.330 seconds short in the Schubert BMW. "Finally starting from the top 10 again," said the Franconian with relief, who is in a good fourth place in the overall standings despite very consistent results. Qualifying is also only rarely a strength of the BMW M4 GT3 Evo this season.
5 months ago
