Spengler takes pole at Norisring

Canadian Mercedes-Benz-driver, Bruno Spengler, had the upper hand over his rivals in qualifying for the fifth round of the season in the DTM and will be starting from pole position tomorrow at 14.00 h (ARD live from 13.45). Torrential rain at the start of qualifying made the session at the only street circuit on the DTM calendar to a slippery affair.

Spengler turned out to be fully concentrated in all sessions of the shoot-out qualifying at the 2.3 kilometres short track and thus claimed the best grid position for the race for the third time already this season. “This was the most difficult pole position of the year, because conditions were so extraordinary”, said the winner of four races last year, who still hasn’t opened his winning account this season.

Spengler’s team-mate Mika Häkkinen from Finland was second, missing out on a third pole position of the year by 0.236 seconds. The winner from Brands Hatch, Bernd Schneider, and Gary Paffett completed the lock-out of the first two grid rows for Mercedes-Benz by qualifying third and fourth respectively. Paffett already won twice at the Norisring in 2004 and 2005. Austrian-based German driver, Timo Scheider, qualified fifth with his Audi A4 DTM, making him the best-placed Audi driver of the day. Last year’s pole sitter from Nuremberg, Jamie Green from Great Britain, only had to make do with sixth place. The winner of the season opener from Hockenheim didn’t get an excellent qualifying result either. Swede Mattias Ekström drove his Audi A4 DTM to seventh position on the grid. The driver in eighth place caused huge delight among teams and spectators. Tom Kristensen (Audi) from Denmark is making his comeback in the DTM following his severe accident at Hockenheim.

The particular weather and track conditions caused joy and grief for some drivers. The leader in the points’ standings, Martin Tomczyk (Audi) failed to make it into the final session of the top eight and was eleventh. On the other hand, his fellow Audi-driver Vanina Ickx and Susie Stoddart with her AMG Mercedes C-Class were happy with the wet conditions. Watched by star guest Roger Moore, Stoddart qualified twelfth and Belgian lady racer Ickx was 14th.

In the points’ standings, Martin Tomczyk is first with 20 points, only just ahead of his closest rival Mattias Ekström at 18. DTM record champion Bernd Schneider is third with 17.5 points.

Bruno Spengler (1st grid position, DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes): “I am really happy, because today, qualifying was really difficult. Initially, I didn’t have a clue, as I never drove at Norisring in the rain before. Throughout the three sessions, the car got betterand better. The team has done a great job and therefore I am really happy with this pole position.”

Mika Häkkinen (2nd grid position, AMG Mercedes): “Surely, qualifying was very exciting for drivers and teams. Condtions were changing all the tim and we had to react immediately. Finding the right line was a real challenge. Because you really have to brake from high speeds here at the Norisring, finding the right braking point is particularly difficult in these conditions, but I am happy with the result.”

Bernd Schneider (3rd grid position, Original Teile AMG Mercedes): “I think, qualifying in the dry wouldn’t have been bad either. There was massive aquaplaning on the main straight. My car was really sideways twice there and I was lucky that everything went well. At the Norisring, it is quite possible to win the race from my grid position.”

Timo Scheider (5th grid position, Audi Sport Team Abt): “Finding the right set-up for qualifying was a little bit like a lottery. After I messed up in qualifying at Brands Hatch, I can live with fifth place very well. My team and I have seen what can be achieved and I am in a good position for the race tomorrow. When the race is run in the dry, we are already well sorted.”

Mercedes-Benz motorsport director Norbert Haug: “This was a very exciting qualifying session with times changing from one lap to another. For our team, the result is great and I really have to praise them, because I didn’t see any mistakes. In such conditions, you have to go a certain way concerning set-up and then stay on the track. Locking out the first two grid rows certainly is an advantage, but that doesn’t guarantee victory in the race. Tomorrow, strategy will be playing a very important role, as it is important not to be stuck in traffic. Now, we are happy with the result and we will see what happens tomorrow.”

Audi motorsport director Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich: “Here, we were beaten by Mercedes-Benz and not by the weather, no doubt about it. Weather was the same for both of us. Our cars often had good sector times in one sector, and then times that wouldn’t have been enough to qualify fourth. Now, we will not give up, but sit down and talk and try to make the best out of it for tomorrow. When the weather remains as changeable as this, we must try to find a good compromise in set-up. When we are running consistently in the race tomorrow with a good strategy and without making slight errors, the spectators will get to see an exciting race.”