Scheider secures pole position for Audi in season opener
Hockenheim. The new Audi A4 DTM will be starting from pole position for its race debut at the Hockenheimring Baden-W?rttemberg. With his lap time of 1.32.655 minutes, Timo Scheider (Audi) claimed the best possible start position for the first race of the 2008 season. For the Audi works driver, it is the third pole position of his DTM career. Reigning DTM champion, Mattias Ekstr?m (Audi), was only 0.149 seconds slower. He will be starting from second place. The Audi duo is followed by two Mercedes-Benz drivers on the second row: Bruno Spengler and Paul di Resta. Best-placed driver with a year-old car is DTM rookie Oliver Jarvis (Audi), who made it into the top eight. Ralf Schumacher missed out on making it into the second qualifying heat by only 88 thousandths of a second. The German will be starting 15th for his first DTM race on Sunday.
Qualifying in detail
Air temperature: 15.7 ? C
Asphalt temperature: 22.3 ?C
13:29 hrs Ralf Schumacher is the first driver to go out for qualifying
13:32 hrs A lot of changes on top of the time sheets. Currently, Timo Scheider is fastest with 1.33.521
13:35 hrs Jamie Green is second from Bernd Schneider, Alexandre Pr?mat, Markus Winkelhock, Oliver Jarvis and Gary Paffett.
13:37 hrs Mattias Ekstr?m is the only driver who hasn't posted a lap time yet.
13:38 hrs Tom Kristensen is fastest with 1.33.486 minutes
13:38 hrs Mattias Ekstr?m is now on top with a lap time of 1.33.382 minutes
13:40 hrs At the moment, the four drivers with 2008-spec Audis are locking out the first four places: Ekstr?m ahead of Kristensen, Scheider and Tomcyzk. Paul di Resta is fastest Mercedes-Benz-driver in fifth place
13:42 hrs Susie Stoddart off the track at the first corner after having posted the 12th fastest time
13:43 hrs Pr?mat improves to seventh, pushes Schumacher to 15th, which means he will miss the cut
13:45 hrs End of the session. Ekstr?m remains fastest from Kristensen, Scheider, Tomczyk, di Resta, Spengler, Pr?mat, Winkelhock, Green and Paffett.
13:45 hrs Schumacher, Engel, Stoddart, Lauda and Legge haven't made it into the second heat.
13:49 hrs Start of the second heat
13:53 hrs Bernd Schneider sets a lap time of 1.33.903, then Jamie Green is on top with 1.33.540
13:54 hrs Timo Scheider is fastest: 1.33.042, Paul di Resta is second with 1.33.454
13:56 hrs Christijan Albers is the last driver of the 14 to go out with 2.40 minutes remaining
13:58 hrs Tomczyk from ninth into second place
14:00 hrs Ekstr?m is now second with 1.33.128
14:01 hrs Timo Scheider remains fastest from Ekstr?m, Tomczyk, di Resta, Kristensen, Spengler, Green and Jarvis, who is the best-placed driver with a year-old car. Bernd Schneider is the only driver with a 2008-spec car not to make it into the final heat.
14:06 hrs Start of the third and final heat
14:07 hrs Oliver Jarvis is the first driver out on the track
14:09 hrs Timo Scheider claims the top position with 1.32.655
14:10 hrs Paul di Resta is second with 1.33.075
14:11 hrs Martin Tomczyk is the last driver to go out on the hunt for a fast lap time. Mattias Ekstr?m is now second: 1.32.804.
14:15 hrs Kristensen claims fourth from Spengler
14:15 hrs Spengler moves up into third place
14:16 hrs End of the session. Timo Scheider claims the third pole of his DTM career from Ekstr?m, Spengler, di Resta, Kristensen, Green, Tomczyk and Jarvis.
