Timo Glock takes Race 2 pole in drying conditions at Hockenheim
BMW Motorsport driver Timo Glock continued his good form from yesterday to take pole position for Race 2 at Hockenheim.
The session started on a wet circuit as it had been drizzling at the Baden-Wüttemberg track. At the green light, all drivers ventured out on wet tyres.
Audi’s Mattias Ekström set the first reference time, which was quickly beaten by team-mate Mike Rockenfeller and BMW’s Timo Glock and Marco Wittmann.
The times were constantly improving, with the lead changing hands from BMW’s Tom Blomqvist to Mercedes’ Paul Di Resta, BMW’s Maxime Martin and Mercedes’ Edoardo Mortara. Half-way through the session, the fastest lap was already six seconds faster than at the start.
The slippery conditions didn’t make it easy for the drivers, with BMW’s Timo Glock and Marco Wittmann going wide at Turn 2 and Mercedes Kurve respectively. Mike Rockenfeller had to go on the grass at the hairpin whilst attempting to overtake Robert Wickens around the outside as the Canadian nudged him out. The incident would be investigated by the stewards after the session, with no further action taken.
Rain had stopped falling over Hockenheim before the session and some drivers tried slicks with seven minutes to go. Robert Wickens climbed to the top with a 1:35.828, with Timo Glock, Lucas Auer and Augusto Farfus following suit. Marco Wittmann also improved. Soon after, Wickens climbed to the top again, to be beaten by Mike Rockenfeller, with Gary Paffett second and Mattias Ekström third.
The Briton went fastest with less than a minute left on the clock followed by Lucas Auer, but the Mercedes pair were under threat from the competition, with Bruno Spengler, then Jamie Green and Timo Glock stealing first position from each other.
The classification was up for grabs until the last moment, with Timo Glock setting a time of 1:31:406 to take pole position, with fellow BMW driver Augusto Farfus taking second by just 0.026 seconds. However, the Brazilian had started his last lap when the chequered flag was out, and had his time deleted and falling to 18th and last spot of the grid.
In second was Audi’s René Rast, 0.175 seconds behind Glock, with team-mate at Rosberg Jamie Green third.
Edoardo Mortara was the best-placed Mercedes in fourth position, 0.353 seconds off the pace, followed by Mike Rockenfeller. Bruno Spengler was sixth, with the Mercedes of Gary Paffett, Lucas Auer and Maro Engel next. Mattias Ekström completed the top ten, seven-tenths behind pole.
The final minutes were dire for BMW, with Tom Blomqvist and Marco Wittmann making mistakes on their final laps. The Briton was 14th, with the reigning champion only managing 17th place.
The start of Race 2 is scheduled for 15:18 CET.
