By Glenn Freeman Saturday, July 3rd 2010, 12:49 GMT
Ralf SchumacherRalf Schumacher took his maiden DTM pole position in qualifying for this weekend's race at the Norisring.
The ex-grand prix driver shone throughout the session. He topped the times in Q1, was third in Q2, and then just made it into the Q4 pole position shootout with the fourth fastest time.
That meant he ran first of the four drivers gunning for pole, but Jamie Green, Martin Tomczyk, and championship leader Bruno Spengler all failed to beat his benchmark.
Spengler - a two-time Norisring winner - was on course to beat Schumacher's time after the first two sectors of the 1.4-mile lap, but he locked a wheel at the final corner, and had to settle for second on the grid.
Green will bid to win a third straight Norisring race from third, while Tomczyk was the slowest of the Q4 runners after brushing the wall at the exit of the chicane. He will lead the Audi charge from fourth.
Behind him, Audi's Mattias Ekstrom and Oliver Jarvis completed the top six, while the fourth row is an all-Mercedes affair with Gary Paffett and Paul di Resta.
Reigning champion Timo Scheider had another difficult Saturday as he was knocked out in Q2. The German will start 10th for Audi, just behind the 2008-spec Mercedes of Maro Engel.
Pos Driver Car Time Session
1. Ralf Schumacher Mercedes 48.721s Q4
2. Bruno Spengler Mercedes 48.790s Q4
3. Jamie Green Mercedes 48.950s Q4
4. Martin Tomczyk Audi 48.970s Q4
5. Mattias Ekstrom Audi 48.525s Q3
6. Oliver Jarvis Audi 48.586s Q3
7. Gary Paffett Mercedes 48.588s Q3
8. Paul di Resta Mercedes 48.671s Q3
9. Maro Engel Mercedes 48.580s Q2
10. Timo Scheider Audi 48.640s Q2
11. Alexandre Premat Audi 48.650s Q2
12. Markus Winkelhock Audi 48.674s Q2
13. David Coulthard Mercedes 48.708s Q2
14. Franky Cheng Mercedes 48.848s Q2
15. Katherine Legge Audi 48.782s Q1
16. Mike Rockenfeller Audi 48.832s Q1
17. Susie Stoddart Mercedes 48.863s Q1
18. Miguel Molina Audi 48.915s Q1
