Photo: DTM Media

Marco Wittmann sets pole for Race 1

BMW Motorsport continued setting the pace this afternoon at the Moscow Raceway, host of the sixth round of the 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season. Marco Wittmann was fastest overall to take pole position for today’s Race 1.

The rain stopped and mildly sunny skies and a dry track welcomed the DTM field today at the Moscow Raceway for the qualifying session, a stark difference from this morning’s practice.

The reigning champion wasted no time, being among the top fastest all session. The BMW M4 DTMs, the lighter cars on track by a 17-30 kilos margin against their rivals, were the pace setters.

Wittmann clocked a best lap of 1:28.810m having also set the best time on the fast second sector. Mercedes’ Pascal Wehrlein was a close second, just 0.169 seconds behind the number 1 BMW. Jamie Green found the competitive track again, setting the third best lap for Audi, just 0.175 seconds off the pace.

Timo Glock and Tom Blomqvist followed for BMW, with standings leader Mattias Ekström in sixth place. Bruno Spengler, fastest this morning, was seventh, followed closely by Audi’s Miguel Molina, who had the best time in the first sector.

Team Mücke’s Daniel Juncadella was ninth for Mercedes, with Audi’s Nico Müller completing the top ten. Antonio Giovinazzi was 19th in his first ever DTM qualifying for Audi, 0.677 seconds behind the pole sitter.

The three manufacturers were fairly mixed in the final positions, although BMW seems to have the edge here so far.

Race 1 will have a duration of 40 minutes plus one lap, and it’s scheduled for 15:30 CEST (GMT + 2). The weather forecast expects conditions to remain dry the rest of the day.