Strong Audi showing in qualifying

Audi had a strong showing in qualifying at Hockenheim and came in 1-2-3 ahead of the race tomorrow. Tom Kristensen took pole position ahead of Timo Scheider and Mattias Ekstrom who qualified best of the three title candidates. Martin Tomczyk and Bruno Spengler qualified fifth and sixth respectively.

Tom Kristensen got a strong comeback at Hockenheim where he had a huge accident at the start of the season. He was on top in both the second and third round of qualifying and says he was pleased with his performance.

“The season had a bad start for me and I am happy that I survived and actually could come back”, he said. “It’s very reassuring to do it like this at the last race and prove to yourself and others that you still have the pace. I’m very happy of course but it’s still only qualifying. The race is tomorrow and I have three drivers behind me who are fighting for the title that I have to look out for.”

Tom also says he still feels the aftermath of his accident in April. “I still have a headache and my days are shorter now than they were before”, he explained. “I have to be more careful with what I eat and how to handle myself. So it means a lot to prove that I can still drive fast.”

Timo Scheider continued his strong runs from practice into qualifying and with a second place he is now closer to his first DTM-podium, but that is not something he wants to think about. “Don’t ask about that. We will see what happens, I’m happy with my qualifying. We made some adjustement for the grip levels before qualifying which proved to be the right way to go. I also want to congratulate Tom to a strong showing. As you know anything can happen in DTM so we will see how the race will play out but I will keep an eye in my mirrors.”

Of the three title candidates, Mattias Ekstrom got the best qualifying with his third place. But it didn’t look like that early on as he struggled in the first qualifying section to match the top times. “I didn’t expect this after the first qualifying round”, he said. “But I’m very happy with the result but we will see tomorrow where we stand. I think we can win but there is a lot that can happen as we saw in Barcelona. I don’t want that kind of excitement this time, but we have a good feeling for tomorrow. Our long runs have felt good.”

Mattias also congratulated Tom to his pole position. “I think it’s a very good result by Tom for his age”, he said cheekily. “He is one of the top drivers in DTM and with such a year he has had this is great for him so I want to congratulate him.”

Jamie Green qualified best of the Mercedes drivers with a fourth place. He felt it was a good result considering the extra weight Mercedes is carrying for this race. “I am happy with my performance”, Jamie explained. “It has been frustrating not being able to deliver what I and veryone else expect of me. The speed has always been there, but now it starts to come together. We will see what happens tomorrow, the only thing you can be sure of is that you can’t take anything for granted in DTM.”

Both Mika Hakkinen and Daniel La Rosa will be moved down the grid after their respective penalties from Barcelona.