Hockenheim DTM: Muller on pole after Rockenfeller penalty
Audi's Nico Muller will start the final DTM race of 2019 at Hockenheim from pole position, while qualifying pacesetter Mike Rockenfeller will line up sixth after a grid penalty earned during Saturday's race.
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
In torrential conditions, it looked as though Muller was destined for pole after coming out on top in the early battle before stringing together two quicker times in the final five minutes to set a 1m50.813s.
That time had placed Muller just 0.002s clear of Rockenfeller but the Phoenix Audi driver improved next time around to take his first provisional pole of 2019 courtesy of a 1m50.800s lap.
But Rockenfeller will not start from the front due to the fact he earned three black and white flag warnings during the 2019 season, taking a five-place grid penalty as a result.
That means Muller will be elevated to pole, with the best-placed BMW of Timo Glock starting alongside him on the front row.
Audi's Jamie Green will line up third ahead of the BMW's of Joel Eriksson and Philipp Eng, with Rockenfeller slotting into sixth.
Wittmann and eventual champion Rene Rast will line-up next to each other in seventh and eighth.
Robin Frijns and Loic Duval rounded out the top 10, shuffling lead R-Motorsport Aston Martin driver Jake Dennis into 11th ahead of teammate Ferdinand Habsburg.
Their teammates Daniel Juncadella and Paul di Resta had more difficult sessions, qualifying 17th and 18th, with the latter having an off at the Sachskurve before continuing.
The pair placed behind the leading SUPER GT machines of Cassidy, who placed his TOM'S-run Lexus in 16th after his final flying lap.
Jenson Button could only place his Honda in 19th, ahead of WRT Audi's Pietro Fittipaldi, and the final SUPER GT entry of Ronnie Quintarelli will start last and 21st in the NISMO-run Nissan.
Qualifying results:
Cla | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Mike Rockenfeller
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'50.80 | |
2 |
Nico Müller
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'50.813 | 0.013 |
3 |
Timo Glock
|
BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'51.260 | 0.460 |
4 |
Jamie Green
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'51.391 | 0.591 |
5 |
Joel Eriksson
|
BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'51.489 | 0.689 |
6 |
Marco Wittmann
|
BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'51.788 | 0.988 |
7 |
Philipp Eng
|
BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'51.807 | 1.007 |
8 |
René Rast
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'51.873 | 1.073 |
9 |
Robin Frijns
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'51.990 | 1.190 |
10 |
Loic Duval
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'51.994 | 1.194 |
11 |
Jake Dennis
|
Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'52.242 | 1.442 |
12 |
Ferdinand Habsburg
|
Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'52.374 | 1.574 |
13 |
Jonathan Aberdein
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'52.483 | 1.683 |
14 |
Bruno Spengler
|
BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'52.491 | 1.691 |
15 |
Sheldon Van Der Linde
|
BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'52.511 | 1.711 |
16 |
Nick Cassidy
|
Lexus LC500 | 1'52.527 | 1.727 |
17 |
Paul di Resta
|
Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'52.534 | 1.734 |
18 |
Daniel Juncadella
|
Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'52.652 | 1.852 |
19 |
Jenson Button
|
Honda NSX-GT | 1'52.787 | 1.987 |
20 |
Pietro Fittipaldi
|
Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'53.410 | 2.610 |
21 |
Tsugio Matsuda
|
Nissan/ R35 | 1'53.875 | 3.075 |
View full results |
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments