Nico Müller scores his first pole position of the year at the Norisring

Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline’s Nico Müller scored his first pole position of the year in Saturday’s qualifying session at the Norisring.

The first incident came early on as Team WRT’s Pietro Fittipaldi went straight at Turn 1, returning to the track by his own power.

All drivers returned to the pits after ten minutes for fresh tyres before the last fight for the pole position, with Audi Sport Team Rosberg’s Jamie Green and René Rast the first to return to the track.

Rast had to give up on improving as traffic ruined his first flying lap, with the 2017 champion unable to improve in his following attempts.

After a frustrating second attempt, with most drivers unable to improve, Müller claimed his first pole position of the season, and his second ever in the DTM, with a lap time of 46.337.

BMW Motorsport Team RBM’s Philipp Eng was second, 0.075 seconds behind, although the Austrian is under investigation for allegedly blocking Audi Sport Team Phoenix driver Mike Rockenfeller.

Audi Sport Team Phoenix’s Loïc Duval was third, a tenth off the pace. BMW Team RMG’s Bruno Spengler was fourth, with Rast qualifying in fifth.

Team RBM’s Joel Eriksson was sixth, followed by fellow BMW driver Marco Wittmann, two-tenths off the pace.

Rockenfeller was eighth, followed by Team WRT’s Jonathan Aberdein and with Team Rosberg’s Jamie Green completing the top ten, shy of four-tenths off the pace.

Daniel Juncadella was the best driver for R-Motorsport, taking his Aston Martin Vantage DTM to 13th place, with the entire field qualifying within less than a second.