DTM

Hockenheim: Mercedes qualifying report

Jean Alesi (AMG-Mercedes) was fifth with a 1:36.179 ahead of Bruno Spengler (Mercedes Second Hand Cars), who qualified sixth with a last year's AMG-Mercedes C-Class with a 1:36.191. Bernd Schneider (Vodafone AMG-Mercedes) who had been fastest in ...

Published: Apr 17, 2005, 5:32 AM

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Jean Alesi (AMG-Mercedes) was fifth with a 1:36.179 ahead of Bruno Spengler (Mercedes Second Hand Cars), who qualified sixth with a last year's AMG-Mercedes C-Class with a 1:36.191. Bernd Schneider (Vodafone AMG-Mercedes) who had been fastest in Qualifying was eighth (1:36.354). Stefan Mücke (Mücke Motorsport AMG-Mercedes) was among the Top Ten for the second time in his DTM career and was tenth with a 1:36.587.

For the second time after the 2004 Norisring race, six Mercedes drivers qualified for the single-lap qualifying. In the 30-minute qualifying, Schneider set the fastest lap with a 1:34.648. Paffett was third (1:34.996) ahead of Green (1:35.064) and Spengler who was the fastet driver with a last year's car achieving a best time of 1:35.156. Alesi was eighth with a 1:35.288 and Mücke took the tenth and final place in the single-lap qualifying edging out Laurent Aiello (Opel Vectra GTS V8) with one thousandth of a second.

Mika Häkkinen (Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes) was 15th with a time of 1:35.697. The 1998 and 1999 Formula One World Champion wasn't able to do more than two runs due to a problem with an overheated left front brake disc. Alexandros Margaritis (Mücke Motorsport AMG-Mercedes) was 16th with a 1:35.756. The entire field of 20 cars was within 1.4sec after qualifying.

Gary Paffett (DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes), second (1:35.283):

"It was a good lap and I'm really happy. It's a shame for the 32 thousandths of a second. Our car has good potential and I will fight for victory tomorrow."

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes), third (1:35.809):

"I'm happy to qualify for the single-lap qualifying in my first DTM race and to start the race third on the grid. My lap in the single-lap qualifying wasn't really good. I had overseer on the slippery surface in the Sachskurve and I lost time."

Jean Alesi (AMG-Mercedes), fifth (1:36.179):

"During Friday's tests and this morning's Free Practice I encountered a problem with the power steering; therefore we did not find the optimum set-up for the car. Therefore I was not able to do better in Qualifying, but I will try hard in the race"

Bruno Spengler (Mercedes Second Hand Cars), sixth (1:36.191):

"I'm really happy. I aimed to qualify for the single-lap qualifying, however, I didn't even dream of ending up sixth with a last year's car. I thank the entire team for a perfect job."

Bernd Schneider (Vodafone AMG-Mercedes), eighth (1:36.354):

"I had a very good qualifying session and I expected more than eighth place for the single-lap qualifying. However, when I entered the Motodrom the track was dirty and slippery, therefore I lost valuable time. This is not a perfect basis for the race, but I will fight for a good result."

Stefan Mücke (Mücke Motorsport AMG-Mercedes), 10th (1:36.587):

"I made a small mistake in the last corner; I had understeer and ran pretty wide. That cost me valuable time. Nevertheless I hope to end up in the points on Sunday."

Mika Häkkinen (Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes), 15th (1:35.697):

"The brake disc at the left front overheated, therefore I was not able to do more than two runs. We were not able to solve the problem fast enough to make a third run in which I certainly would have been faster. Now it's important for me to finish tomorrow's race and to gain more experience for the next starts."

Alexandros Margaritis (Mücke Motorsport AMG-Mercedes), 16th (1:35.756):

"Prior to my second run the car did not come off the automatic jacks. Until we solved the problem the tyres had cooled down and I aborted this run. On my third run the grip level on the track was too low."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:

"A good team performance with four Mercedes-Benz C-Class cars among the top six and a total of six cars within the top ten. Congratulations to Gary Paffett, who is only 32 thousandths of a second behind pole position, and to Jamie Green, who will start his first DTM race third on the grid."

"Unfortunately Mika Häkkinen suffered from a damaged cooling hose at the left front brake disc which prevented him from attacking again with his third set of tyres. A Top Ten position was possible for him."

"Bruno Spengler in sixth and Stefan Mücke in tenth place also performed excellently with their last year's cars. The qualifying was very competitive with three manufacturers among the first two rows on the grid. The spectators here at Hockenheim as well as the TV viewers can look forward to an exciting race tomorrow in front of a big crowd."

-mercedes-

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