7th August, 2010
Mattias Ekström claims pole position at the Nürburgring
DTM
Nürburg. Mattias Ekström (Audi) will be starting from pole position for the fifth DTM round of the season at the Nürburgring. In qualifying at the 3.629 kilometres long track in the Eifel, the Swede set the fastest lap time of 1:23.817 minutes. Points’ leader Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz) will be lining up alongside Ekström on Sunday. The Franco-Canadian missed out on pole by 0.395 seconds. The second grid row has been locked out by Mercedes-Benz drivers: with his 2008-spec AMG Mercedes C-Class, Jamie Green claimed third place, Paul Di Resta will be starting from fourth position. Behind Gary Paffett and Ralf Schumacher (both Mercedes-Benz), Miguel Molina ended up as the second-best Audi driver in qualifying in seventh place. Two times’ DTM champion Timo Scheider (Audi) will be starting from eighth place into the 49 lap race. An extensive press release with quotes will follow shortly.
Qualifying in detail
Air temperature: 21,7 °C
Asphalt temperature: 43,6 °C
13:45 hrs Start of the session. Local hero Mike Rockenfeller is the first driver to go out.
13:48 hrs Mike Rockenfeller tops the time sheets with 1:24.243 minutes.
13:50 hrs Bruno Spengler is now fastest with 1:23.978 minutes.
13:51 hrs Jamie Green moves up into second place: 1:24.201 minutes.
13:53 hrs Four minutes remaining. Currently, Jarvis, Scheider, Legge and Winkelhock aren't in the top 14. Ekström is now second with 1:24.008.
13:55 hrs Jarvis has now moved up into 12th place. Scheider improves from 17th to eighth.
13:56 hrs Jamie Green has been disallowed his fastest lap time because of cutting off the NGK-chicane.
13:57 hrs End of the session. Prémat, Winkelhock, Legge and Cheng don't move up into the next heat.
13:58 hrs Spengler remains fastest from Ekström, Scheider, Green, Rockenfeller, Engel, Di Resta, Paffett, Tomczyk, Schumacher, Coulthard, Stoddart, Jarvis and Molina.
14:04 hrs Start of the second session. Ekstöm is the first driver to go out onto the track.
14:06 hrs Ekstöm is first with a time of 1:23.967 minutes.
14:07 hrs Bruno Spengler takes first place with a lap time of 1:23.710 minutes, followed by Di Resta, who is currently second with 1:23.895 minutes.
14:10 hrs Tomczyk's fastest lap time has been declared void because of cutting off the track at the NGK chicane.
14:12 hrs David Coulthard moves up into sixth place.
14:13 hrs End of the session. Jarvis, Coulthard, Tomczyk, Engel, Rockenfeller and Stoddart aren't qualified for the next heat.
14:14 hrs Spengler remains fastest from Scheider, Molina, Di Resta, Ekström, Green, Paffett and Schumacher.
14:21 hrs Start of the third heat, Ekström is again the first driver to leave the pit lane.
14:23 hrs Miguel Molina spins at the Mercedes Arena, but continues. Ekström sets the fastest time with 1:23.311 minutes.
14:25 hrs Jamie Green is currently second fastest, followed by Di Resta and Paffett.
14:26 hrs End of the session. Spengler still moves up into fourth place and topples Paffett. Ekström remains fastest from Green, Di Resta and Spengler. Not classified for the final heat are Paffett, Schumacher, Molina and Scheider.
14:36 hrs Bruno Spengler: 1:24.212 minutes.
14:38 hrs Paul Di Resta: 1:24.376 minutes.
14:40 hrs Jamie Green: 1:24.310 minutes.
14:42 hrs Mattias Ekström: 1:23.817 minutes.
