The DTM Lausitzring has witnessed a historic moment for Ford, which has achieved its first pole position in the history of the championship. Arjun Maini, driver for HRT, has posted a time of 1:19.750, surpassing Matteo Cairoli of Ferrari by 0.128 seconds, who finished second.
Maini expressed great satisfaction with his performance and highlighted the team’s excellent work. This is his second pole in his DTM career, after the one he achieved in Spielberg in 2024 with a Mercedes.
Nicki Thiim, with an Aston Martin, registered a quick time of 1:19.463 in the previous day’s qualifying but could not replicate the feat and ended up in third place. The race director commented that the track conditions were indeed slower due to the rain from the day before.
The qualifying results saw seven different brands occupy the top eight positions, reflecting the Balance of Performance adjustment at Lausitzring. Luca Engstler, a new driver for Lamborghini, secured fifth place, while Thomas Preining’s Porsche finished sixth. Maro Engel, a Mercedes driver, placed seventh, with Marco Wittmann from BMW as the best driver in eighth place.
Wittmann expressed his relief at being back in the top ten and acknowledged that the BMW M4 GT3 Evo has not been the fastest at the start of the season.
As for the DTM leader, Lucas Auer, he had a disappointing qualifying and finished in thirteenth place. However, he could benefit from a penalty for Ricardo Feller, who will see his position altered from tenth to fifteenth.
With the track and conditions so varied, the race promises to be exciting, and many drivers, including Timo Glock, who has saved tires, will return to the track with different strategies. The competition will start at 13:30, with hopes of seeing how the drivers manage their opportunities.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
SourceID: SRC_6427ab4287c7b1befb3f2004eb4797f06899caa8