3rd July, 2010
DTM premiere: Ralf Schumacher claims pole position for the first time
DTM
Nuremberg. The fans at the Norisring got to see a thrilling qualifying with a sensational fastest driver: with his AMG Mercedes C-Class, Ralf Schumacher delivered a major surprise in claiming his maiden pole position in the DTM. In hot temperatures of over 35 degrees, Schumacher set the fastest lap time of 48.721 and will thus be starting from first place into the fourth DTM season round on Sunday at 14.00 h. “To be honest, I am surprised myself by what has happened here. The Norisring suits me. Of course, pole position is great, although I already expected Bruno to beat my time. First of all, I will enjoy the present day now. Of course, victory on Sunday would be the icing on the cake”, said the 35-year old.
At the 2.3 kilometres short street circuit, Schumacher’s margin over the second-fastest driver of the day, Bruno Spengler (also Mercedes-Benz) was only 0.069 seconds. Canadian Spengler is currently leading the points’ standings with 26 points. The third fastest time in the final session of the four-heat qualifying was achieved by Mercedes-Benz driver Jamie Green from Great Britain, who thus was the best-placed driver with a 2008-spec car.
The best Audi driver in qualifying was German Martin Tomczyk. However, on his final lap, the 28-year old clipped the wall and missed out on a better result. “At the Norisring, I am always having trouble, but so far, the entire weekend has been great. Unfortunately, my rear tyres had no grip whatsoever. When I turned into the Schöller-S, the rear of the car slid out. Therefore, I couldn’t do any better. But it is as it is”, said Tomczyk. His fellow Audi driver Mattias Ekström ended up fifth. Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz), currently third in the drivers’ standings, will be starting from seventh place behind Oliver Jarvis (Audi). Scottish Mercedes-Benz driver Paul Di Resta, second in the championship standings, will be lining up eighth on the grid.
Reigning DTM champion Timo Scheider was unhappy with his qualifying result. The Audi driver was only classified tenth. “That was yet another disappointing result today. In spite of the weather, we hadn’t chosen a different strategy. Perhaps, that wasn’t too good. But after all, we are in Nuremberg here. There are some opportunities for overtaking”, said Scheider. On his first appearance at the Norisring, DTM rookie David Coulthard reached 13th place on the grid with his AMG Mercedes C-Class. German Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) failed to make it into the second heat of the four-heat qualifying and will be starting 16th.
The fourth DTM round of the season will cover 82 laps. The start is at 14.00 h. ARD is broadcasting live from 13.45 h.
