• Timo Scheider clinches pole position at German finale of the DTM• Mike Rockenfeller on row one as well• Seven Audi A4 DTM cars on the top nine grid positions
The brand that has been the first and only one in DTM history to win three consecutive titles handled the extremely difficult conditions in qualifying for the German finale of the 2010 DTM best:
Timo Scheider clinched the pole position for Audi on the shortenedHockenheimring on a track that was wet from rain. His brand colleague MikeRockenfeller will start from the first row too on Sunday (starting at 1:45 p.m. –local time – live on “Das Erste”) with his 2008-spec A4 DTM. With seven Audi A4DTM cars on the top nine grid positions, the brand with the four rings is in anoutstanding position for the race.
Timo Scheider, who had won the DTM title twice in a row at Hockenheim, in 2008and 2009, managed a perfect lap at the crucial moment of the rainy qualifying: afterachieving third, first and fourth places in the first three qualifying segments, thetwo-time DTM Champion in Q4 commandingly secured his ninth pole position in theDTM in total with an advantage of almost half a second. “Being the quickest in therain is always particularly nice,” said the driver from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline.“And Hockenheim still has a very special meaning for me. Sitting on the poleposition in an Audi in front of a home audience of fans at the German finale is afantastic feeling.”
Mike Rockenfeller, who had delivered a remarkable performance as early as in themorning by setting a fastest time in free practice, was similarly pleased. Inqualifying the Le Mans winner again made a strong showing: he was the fastestdriver in Q1 and Q3, third in Q2 and ultimately second in the crucial shoot-out forthe top grid positions. As a result, “Rocky” will start from the front row for thesecond time in his DTM career.
With Alexandre Prémat Audi Sport Team Phoenix managed to put both cars into thedecisive qualifying segment for the first time. Although Prémat did not achieve aperfect lap, grid position four meant the best qualifying result of the year for theFrenchman.
Behind Martin Tomczyk, who finished in sixth place, Markus Winkelhock from AudiSport Team Rosberg with a seventh-place finish at his home round managed the leapinto the top ten for the first time in what has so far been a very unfortunate seasonfor him. Miguel Molina and Oliver Jarvis on positions eight and nine completed theimpressive performance of the Audi squad.
“We’re on the pole position for as much as the fifth consecutive time in this racenow,” said a highly pleased Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Thisclearly demonstrates the qualities of the Audi A4 DTM. With seven cars on the topnine grid positions we have a good starting base for achieving the victory at theGerman finale we’re aiming for, even though different conditions have beenpredicted for tomorrow. Due to the different track layout good grid positions here atHockenheim are more important than ever.”
However, Audi’s hopes of postponing the title decision were dampened on Saturday:Mattias Ekström, of all drivers, who is the only Audi racer to still have theoreticalchances of winning the title, did not manage an optimal qualifying. The Swede wascomplaining about extreme oversteer that could not be corrected even by anunscheduled tire change. As a result, the two-time DTM Champion, who had neverachieved less than a sixth place in qualifying this year, was surprisingly eliminated asearly as in Q1 and will have to start into the race on Sunday from an untypical 15thplace. Alongside Ekström, Katherine Legge will be on row eight as the quickest ladyin the field.
