Second DTM pole for Nicki Thiim: The Aston Martin factory driver clocked a record-breaking lap of 1:19.463 during Saturday’s DTM qualifying at the Lausitzring – improving Lucas Auer’s qualifying record from the previous year by 0.364 seconds. The Dane was also 0.062 seconds faster than HRT pilot Arjun Maini, who proved the Ford Mustang’s single-lap strength.<\/p>\n
“This isn’t really our weather, but we’ll take it with a big smile,” the son of DTM legend Kurt Thiim told ran.de, referring to the 28-degree heat at 9 a.m. “The second pole of my short DTM career – and obviously something special with Aston Martin. But yeah, that was only half the battle,” said the Comtoyou driver, who took his first pole in 2024 during his only DTM victory at the Norisring.<\/p>\n
A wide grin was also seen on the face of\u00a0HRT Ford driver Maini, who put the Mustang on the front row following strong results in official testing and Friday practice. “I am very happy. We have already seen this year how much progress we have made with the Ford Mustang GT3.”<\/p>\n
Will the Ford Mustang manage the tires over the distance?<\/p>\n
The heat does not bother the Indian driver, even though the air conditioning in the Mustang was removed for weight reasons. “I am quite used to this weather,” says Maini. “I spent most of my junior racing career in these conditions, so I like the heat.”<\/p>\n
Whether it is an advantage for his car, however, remains the big question: While the Mustang GT3 brings the tires up to temperature quickly in qualifying, they overheat just as fast in the race. Tire degradation could therefore become a problem for the Evo version, despite better wheel arch ventilation thanks to the new rims.<\/p>\n
Mercedes-AMG trio waiting in the wings<\/p>\n
DTM runner-up Lucas Auer (+0.160) finished in third place, leading a Mercedes-AMG trio. Winward Mercedes drivers Jules Gounon (+0.250) and Maro Engel (+0.362) followed directly behind him in fourth and fifth.<\/p>\n
“It wasn’t an easy qualifying,” Auer told ran.de after the session. “It wasn’t easy to position myself ideally, so I’m very satisfied.”<\/p>\n
The Austrian was referring to his positioning before his flying lap. “I was behind several different manufacturers and it was messy. It wasn’t my best warm-up, but the lap was very good and the tire peak was there.”<\/p>\n
Disappointment for Porsche, debacle for BMW<\/p>\n
How did Engel react to the result, given he still leads the overall standings despite Auer’s qualifying point? “Two AMGs ahead of me, so not quite ideal, but fifth place is certainly a starting position from which we can race well,” he told ran.de, pointing to the solid starting position.<\/p>\n
The second HRT Ford driver, Finn Wiebelhaus (+0.427), finished sixth, while Emil Frey Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli (+0.438) took seventh.<\/p>\n
The best Lamborghini driver was Luca Engstler (+0.517) in eleventh, making Abt Sportsline faster than\u00a0Grasser Racing. Things did not go as planned for Porsche and BMW: Thomas Preining in the “Grello” could only manage twelfth place, 0.540 seconds back. BMW drivers Marco Wittmann (+0.809) and Kelvin van der Linde (+0.829) ended up at the back of the field in 18th and 19th.<\/p>\n
Van der Linde jokes: “Apparently, you get slower at 30”<\/p>\n
This happened of all days on Kelvin van der Linde’s 30th birthday. “Apparently, you also get slower at 30,” the South African said with a grin to ran.de. “I’m second to last, so no idea – hopefully this trend doesn’t continue.”<\/p>\n
And this comes despite van der Linde having just won the DTM race in Zandvoort. “I’ve definitely had better feelings than being second to last,” he said, appearing puzzled. “I’m a bit surprised that the pace at the front was so strong. But what can you do?”<\/p>\n
The fact that teammate Wittmann was also far off the lead suggests the problem does not lie with the drivers. There was also disappointment for Timo Glock: The former Formula 1 driver, who had technical problems in Free practice, finished last in the Dorr-McLaren, 0.937 seconds back, while teammate Ben Dorr (+0.514) took tenth.<\/p>\n
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