Pole place for Nicki Thiim in Saturday’s DTM qualifying, which was cut up into two teams as a result of quick nature of the Norisring. The Dane clocked a 48.449-second lap to high the charts in Group B, which ran later and benefited from elevated grip. In consequence, Thiim will begin forward of Winward Mercedes driver Maro Engel, who set the tempo in Group A with a time of 48.463 seconds.
Driving the Comtoyou Aston Martin, Thiim additionally broke the lap file set by Jordan Pepper final 12 months (48.467). “I simply find it irresistible right here in Nuremberg,” stated the Norisring specialist, who claimed his solely DTM victory thus far right here in 2024 driving an SSR Lamborghini. “I touched the wall two or thrice, however that provides you a little bit of a kick.”
Apart from the partitions, the brakes have been a significant problem for Thiim: “With the 2 hairpins, the brakes are at 110 % of their restrict. That’s the reason I might like to preserve the recent air for the whole race,” he added, emphasizing his willpower to remain forward at first.
Engel takes DTM lead with second on the grid
Because of the 2 factors awarded for second on the grid, Engel moved from third to the highest of the general standings, as Emil Frey Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli didn’t make the highest three. The Winward Mercedes driver utilized an unconventional technique in qualifying – finishing two runs on a single set of tires. He set his quickest time on his twentieth lap, proving that tire degradation performs a minor function on this road circuit.
“I believe it’s troublesome for everybody to get the tires into the best window right here,” Engel advised ran.de. “The asphalt may be very clean, which is why you see totally different methods. We selected the one which labored greatest for us.”
Ford Mustang, McLaren, and Mercedes ready within the wings
Behind Thiim and Engel, the grid is shaped by interleaving the 2 qualifying teams. The Ford staff HRT has cause to be optimistic with the Mustang GT3 Evo: Arjun Maini begins from third, whereas teammate Finn Wiebelhaus secured eighth in his Norisring debut.
Fourth place went to McLaren driver Ben Dorr, who adopted up his maiden DTM win on the Lausitzring with one other robust efficiency. “We will all be blissful as a result of that is really the worst observe on the calendar for us,” the teen famous. “We normally want these good, massive, flowing tracks with clean asphalt and few bumps – sadly, the Norisring doesn’t have that.”
However, the Dorr squad has made vital progress in Nuremberg, the place they struggled immensely throughout their debut two years in the past, regardless of testing not being allowed. Not like his teammate, Dorr’s teammate Timo Glock competed within the second qualifying group and completed thirteenth.
Behind Dorr, three Mercedes-AMG drivers lined up: Landgraf Mercedes driver Lucas Auer completed fifth, adopted by Winward’s Jules Gounon in sixth, and Tom Kalender within the second Landgraf automotive in seventh, regardless of a number of wall contacts. Auer, who drops from second to 3rd within the standings, advised ran.de that they’re “solidly within the combine.” He added: “It’s a good beginning place for the race – we are able to positively make one thing occur from there.”
Like Friday: Porsche and BMW far behind
Qualifying didn’t go as deliberate for Emil Frey Ferrari driver Cairoli, who completed twelfth – dropping his championship lead and dropping to second behind Engel. The quick Italian, who ran in Group A, struggled together with his brakes, that are the important thing to success on the Norisring, simply as he did on Friday.
The state of affairs was even worse for Porsche and BMW. Thomas Preining, a a number of winner on the Norisring, will begin because the best-placed Porsche in fifteenth, with teammate Ricardo Feller in sixteenth. Proper behind the Swiss driver, Kelvin van der Linde begins seventeenth as the highest BMW performer. Native hero Marco Wittmann may solely handle twentieth within the second Schubert BMW.
Kelvin van der Linde annoyed: “We do have a proof”
“It’s bitter to be trailing like this all weekend,” a deeply dissatisfied Kelvin van der Linde advised ran.de. “That isn’t our commonplace in any respect.” When requested if he had a proof, he replied: “We do have a proof. However I’ve to say, everybody within the staff is a bit annoyed proper now when you’re six-tenths too sluggish over simply 4 corners.”
He famous that teammate Wittmann’s end result speaks for itself. “Marco is a two-time DTM champion, and I’ve not been unsuccessful right here previously both. This can be very irritating for each of us. The vehicles really feel actually good within the corners. We each put collectively two good qualifying laps.”
When requested if the Steadiness of Efficiency was the difficulty, the German-South African gave a transparent reply: “That’s it.” Nevertheless, he added that he doesn’t need to “concentrate on the politics.” “I simply need an opportunity to compete on the entrance – every little thing else is comparatively irrelevant to me. I merely want for a bit extra tempo.” It stays to be seen whether or not the BoP shall be adjusted earlier than Saturday’s race.
We wish your opinion!
What would you wish to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Crew
