Paul Di Resta takes pole position for Race 2 in Hockenheim
Mercedes AMG’s Paul Di Resta scored his seventh pole in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters in the qualifying session held this afternoon in Hockenheim, host of the 2016 season opener. The Briton made the most of his first stint, when there was a tight fight for the top spot.
The Briton set a best lap of 1:34.060, after a battle with fellow Mercedes AMG driver Esteban Ocon during the first half of the session. BMW drivers Maxime Martin and Augusto Farfus pulled strong efforts, but never being able to steal the top spot.
The Brazilian from Team MTEK was finally second, 0.126 seconds behind the pole sitter. Gary Paffett was third for Mercedes, followed by Team RBM driver Maxime Martin.
Robert Wickens confirmed Mercedes AMG’s good form in fifth, followed by BMW’s Timo Glock and rookie Esteban Ocon.
BMW’s Tom Blomqvist, Marco Wittmann and António Félix Da Costa completed the top ten, with the Portuguese driver 0.389 seconds off the pace.
Audi Sport struggled with pace despite the good form shown in this morning’s third free practice. Jamie Green was the best placed man for the Ingolstadt manufacturer in 11th place. Saturday’s winner Edoardo Mortara was 12th, with Mattias Ekström down in 20th position.
The only incident in the session took place with 20 seconds on the clock, as Mercedes’ Lucas Auer spun off the track at Turn 1, causing a yellow first sector. This ruined the last attempts from all drivers on the track. The Austrian qualified in 16th place for today’s grid.
After the session, both Paul Di Resta and Esteban Ocon were investigated for alleged blocking, with no further action taken against neither of them.
The start of Race 2 is scheduled for 14:30 CEST.
