Photo: DTM Media

Christian Vietoris takes pole position for Norisring race one

Team Mücke’s Christian Vietoris secured pole position for the first of this weekend’s DTM races at the Norisring, edging out Mattias Ekström and Jamie Green in an extremely tight qualifying session.

After a flurry of times in the opening minutes, Vietoris hit the summit halfway through the 20-minute session and his time of 48.144 was never bettered.

However, the Audi pair of Ekström and Green were just 0.038s and 0.050s off the pace respectively in their RS 5s, with championship leader Robert Wickens the second best Mercedes in fourth.

Team MTEK’s Bruno Spengler was the best of the BMWs in fifth in his M4 DTM, with first practice pacesetter Edoardo Mortara sixth for Audi. The top 10 was completed by the two Mercedes of Paul di Resta and Lucas Auer, and the two Audis of Mike Rockenfeller and Nico Muller.

It was a disappointing session for Wickens’s nearest challenger in the championship, Marco Wittman, who will start down in 13th in his BMW M4 DTM.

The session was the closest yet, with just 0.430 covering Vietoris down to Esteban Ocon in his Mercedes in 24th position.

The lead changed hands several times in the opening minutes, before di Resta became the first man to dip under Wickens’s best time from second practice.

Wickens himself then jumped to the top before he was deposed by Vietoris, and although Ekström beat the German’s time, the eventual polesitter jumped straight back to the top on his next lap.

Vietoris wasn’t finished though, and shaved a further 0.044 seconds off his best time – crucially, as it would turn out, as it gave him just enough of a buffer to Ekström in the final standings.

The first of the two DTM races of the weekend is scheduled to get underway at 13:28 CET.