Photo: Tamara Aller

Miguel Molina clinches a superb pole position in Hockenheim

Miguel Molina set the fastest time today in Hockenheim to clinch his first pole position of the year, and third of his DTM career. The Spaniard from Audi Team Abt Sportsline clocked 1:33.316 around Hockenheim, leading Audi’s final charge for the Manufacturers’ title.

Q1 started with a sunny and unusually warm temperature, making tyre choices even more important. Molina was the first to set a time, but was quickly beaten by HWA Mercedes’ Pascal Wehrlein.

Joey Hand had problems with the driver door on his BMW M4 DTM, with his mechanics struggling to close it properly, and lost most of the initial 13 minutes waiting in his pit for the issue to be resolved.

The top positions changed quickly, with Mattias Ekström and Paul Di Resta alternating at the front, but it would be Molina who, with a time of 1:33.190, ended up on top.

Out after Q1 were BMW’s Timo Glock, Martin Tomczyk and Joey Hand, in a big blow to the Bavarian manufacturer, followed by Mercedes’ Christian Vietoris and Vitaly Petrov.

Q2 started with Gary Paffett clocking the first fastest time, which was quickly beaten by Pascal Wehrlein, with a 1:33.329. He was followed by Augusto Farfus, who was trying to recover from a difficult Q1 in his M4 DTM from BMW Team RBM.

Mike Rockenfeller climbed to the top spot, and was closely followed by fellow Audi driver Miguel Molina, who was feeling confident in his RS 5 DTM.

Audi Team Abt Sportsline driver Mattias Ekström was third, followed by Jamie Green. Timo Scheider in seventh place and Edoardo Mortara in eighth made a total of six Audi drivers going into Q3, from a maximum of eight.

Mercedes’ Pascal Wehrlein and BMW’s Augusto Farfus were the only non-Audi drivers going into the battle for pole position.

After Q2, Antonio Félix Da Costa, Paul Di Resta, Adrien Tambay, Robert Wickens, Marco Wittmann, Bruno Spengler, Maxime Martin, Gary Paffett, Dani Juncadella and Nico Müller were out of contention for the first four rows of the grid.

Mattias Ekström was the first one ready to go out in the Q3, the final eleven minutes to fight for pole position.

Mike Rockenfeller went into the pits after an evaluation lap, whilst Molina remained on the track. The Spaniard set the second fastest lap after Ekström. Jamie Green claimed the second spot for a moment, but having received a warning for exceeding the track limits.

The final three minutes of the session were not suitable for the faint-hearted, with Molina and Ekström monopolising an epic duel for pole position. The Spaniard did a superb lap to set a time of 1:33.316, but Ekström painted a purple second sector on his last lap. At the finish line, the Swede would be second, only 16 thousands behind his team mate.

Edoardo Mortara climbed to third position at the last moment, with Augusto Farfus, fourth, being the first non Audi driver.

Jamie Green was fifth, followed by Pascal Wehrlein, who was the best of the Mercedes drivers, Mike Rockenfeller and Timo Scheider.

Miguel Molina was very happy with his first pole of the year, but he remained focussed: “It’s the second time I get pole in the last race, and it feels very good, as we have had a few tough moments this season. I had a good car and my congratulations go to the team, who did a superb job. I wasn’t happy with my first lap in Q3, so we made a few changes and went back to get pole. My aim is to fight for the win tomorrow.”

Mattias Ekström couldn’t be happier: “I think everybody will agree with me in congratulating Miguel, he is a top driver and has done a fantastic job. I got some advice from him to improve in one of the corners. I’m happy with the car and will try to fight for the win tomorrow.”

The race will take place tomorrow, with the start scheduled for 14:00 CEST, and will run for 42 laps.