Misano DTM: Rast leads Audi 1-2-3-4 in first qualifying
Rene Rast took pole position for the DTM's opening race at Misano, leading an Audi lockout of the top four grid slots.
Rast set his best effort of a 1m25.294s on the first run during a frenzy of improvements but then opted to remain in the garage and not take part in the second runs.
High tyre wear in the hot conditions at Misano informed that decision, as Hankook expects a one-stop race and all DTM drivers are allocated seven sets of slicks for the weekend.
DTM rookie Jonathan Aberdein put in his and WRT's best qualifying performance of 2019 by placing his customer Audi on the front row of the grid in second, 0.068s behind Rast.
Loic Duval and Robin Frijns then ensured Audi locked out the top four positions by taking third and fourth on the grid respectively.
Sheldon van der Linde, who took his first pole position in the DTM at Zolder last time out, was the highest-placed BMW in fifth. Bruno Spengler took sixth ahead of championship leader and BMW stablemate Philipp Eng.
Nico Muller, Mike Rockenfeller and Timo Glock were eighth, ninth and 10th and ensured no drivers inside the top 10 improved on their placings after the first runs.
Pietro Fittipaldi, who is filling in for the unwell Jamie Green, was 11th-fastest, while Jake Dennis was the quickest driver from the R-Motorsport Aston Martin programme in 13th.
Dani Juncadella had expressed fears on Friday that Ducati MotoGP rider Andrea Dovizioso could "worry" his Aston Martin team, but he qualified in front of the Audi driver in 14th.
Dovizioso still beat two of the Astons in 15th, and was 1.7s off the pace in the second WRT Audi.
Two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann will start last in 18th after failing to set a lap during qualifying due to engine trouble.
Qualifying results:
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 33 |  René Rast | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.294 | |
| 2 | 27 |  Jonathan Aberdein | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.362 | 0.068 |
| 3 | 28 |  Loic Duval | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.543 | 0.249 |
| 4 | 4 |  Robin Frijns | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.680 | 0.386 |
| 5 | 31 | Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.840 | 0.546 |
| 6 | 7 |  Bruno Spengler | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.900 | 0.606 |
| 7 | 25 |  Philipp Eng | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'25.943 | 0.649 |
| 8 | 51 |  Nico Müller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'25.978 | 0.684 |
| 9 | 99 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'26.032 | 0.738 |
| 10 | 16 | Timo Glock | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'26.153 | 0.859 |
| 11 | 21 |  Pietro Fittipaldi | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 1'26.583 | 1.289 |
| 12 | 47 |  Joel Eriksson | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 1'26.832 | 1.538 |
| 13 | 76 |  Jake Dennis | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'26.841 | 1.547 |
| 14 | 23 |  Daniel Juncadella | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'26.887 | 1.593 |
| 15 | 34 |  Andrea Dovizioso | Audi RS5 DTM | 1'27.037 | 1.743 |
| 16 | 62 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'27.191 | 1.897 |
| 17 | 3 | Paul di Resta | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 1'27.772 | 2.478 |
| View full results | |||||
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About this article
| Series | DTM |
| Event | Misano |
| Author | Tom Errington |
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