14th May, 2011
Spengler’s second strike - another pole in The Netherlands
DTM
Zandvoort. Currently, Canadian Bruno Spengler is the benchmark in the DTM. After pole position and victory in the DTM season opener at Hockenheim, the 27-year old Mercedes-Benz driver also claimed the best starting grid position for the race at Circuit Park Zandvoort in The Netherlands. Spengler completed the lap of the 4.307 kilometres long circuit in the dunes in 1:31.805 minutes and thus stayead ahead of his fellow Mercedes-Benz driver Jamie Green, who was second. The Brit was only 0.135 seconds down. “Qualifying was fun, although it wasn’t easy. Fortunately, I was able to improve from one qualifying heat to another. Today is a great day”, said the pole-sitter, who already claimed first place on the grid for the ninth time in his DTM career. At Zandvoort, however, he had never been in front before.
Behind the two Mercedes-Benz drivers on the front row, Audi drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Martin Tomczyk will be starting the race from third and fourth place respectively-. While Rockenfeller is driving a 2009-spec Audi A4 DTM, Tomczyk is driving a 2008-spec car. “For me, qualifying went really well. Third place was the best we could achieve today. However, I am sure that we can do better in the race on Sunday”, the best-placed Audi driver in qualifying commented.
British driver Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz), who has already won three times at Zandvoort, failed to make it into the final heat and will be starting the race from fifth place. Timo Scheider (Audi), the 2008 and 2009 DTM champion, will be starting from sixth place alongside Paffett. With his Audi A4 DTM, Italian Edoardo Mortara showed a convincing performance by ending up seventh as the best-placed DTM rookie in his second DTM qualifying. Mercedes-Benz driver Ralf Schumacher, who scored his maiden podium finish as he came third in the season opener, will start the race from eighth place.
Audi driver Mattias Ekström, second in the season opener at Hockenheim, was really disappointed by today’s qualifying. At Zandvoort, the two times’ DTM champion was already sidelined after the first heat of the shoot-out qualifying and only made it into 16th place. “I don’t know how that happened. Actually, I didn’t make a mistake on my fast lap, but I suppose that I couldn’t do any better today”, Ekström searched for an explanation.
The second DTM race of the season covers 41 laps and a total distance of 176.587 kilometres. The start is at 14.00 h, ARD is broadcasting live from 13.55 h.
