DTM

Norisring: Mercedes qualifying report

DTM 2005: 6th round at the Norisring, Qualifying Gary Paffett Second, Nine Thousandths from Pole Position Bruno Spengler qualified third in a 2004 C-Class Gary Paffett (DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes) will start Sunday's sixth round of the 2005 ...

Published: Jul 16, 2005, 11:45 PM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

DTM 2005: 6th round at the Norisring, Qualifying
Gary Paffett Second, Nine Thousandths from Pole Position
Bruno Spengler qualified third in a 2004 C-Class

Gary Paffett (DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes) will start Sunday's sixth round of the 2005 DTM at Nuremberg's Norisring second on the grid. In the thrilling single-lap qualifying, Paffett set a time of 48.455 and was just nine thousandths of a second behind Tom Kristensen's (Audi A4 DTM) pole position time. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes Second Hand Cars) qualified third fastest with a 48.469 in a last year's AMG-Mercedes C-Class.

Jean Alesi (AMG-Mercedes) was fourth fastest with a 48.497 and will start alongside Spengler on the second row. Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes/48.869) and Bruno Spengler (Vodafone AMG-Mercedes/48.959) were ninth and tenth and will start from the fifth row on the grid. The first four cars were within 0.051sec and the three brands are within less than three tenths of a second. Six C-Class cars had qualified for the ten places in the single-lap qualifying.

In an exciting qualifying the order at the top changed continuously in the closing minutes. Paffett posted the best time on his very fast lap after the chequered flag with a 48.257. Alesi was second fastest with a 48.311 whilst Spengler drove the 2004 C-Class to a 48.251 - less than one tenths of a second behind the fastest.

Häkkinen (48.474) and Green (48.482) were fifth and sixth within eight thousandths of a second. Schneider followed in seventh place with a 48.572. Mücke Motorsport drivers Stefan Mücke (49.046) and Alexandros Margaritis (49.207) qualified 16th and 18th respectively with Margaritis qualifying less than a second behind the fastest.

Gary Paffett:

"Unfortunately I made a small mistake at the Grundig hairpin and even with a very good last sector I was not able to catch up completely. However, second on the grid is a good basis for tomorrow's race. The car worked great and a top result is possible."

Bruno Spengler:

"I can hardly believe that I qualified third. Thank you to my team - they gave me a perfect car which I used for a perfect lap."

Jean Alesi:

"I'm quite satisfied with my fourth position. It should be a good basis for the race. The car's balance was great and a better result would have been possible; however I was a bit conservative on my lap."

Mika Häkkinen:

"At this short track with only four corners it was very difficult for me to get the right temperatures for tyres and brakes. In these conditions the seventh place is still OK, although I had hoped for more. The car is great and I will push hard tomorrow."

Jamie Green:

"This was not OK. I made a small mistake at the Esses which cost me too much time. However, our technical package is very good I will attack tomorrow."

Bernd Schneider:

"I am disappointed, because a better result was possible today. I had some problems at the second sector and I lost time because I lost my rhythm."

Stefan Mücke:

"I'm not happy about my 16th grid position. We changed something in the set-up and as a consequence we didn't get the right temperature at the front tyres."

Alexandros Margaritis:

"During my fastest lap I got stuck in traffic at the last sector. Unfortunately, I'm therefore 18th on the grid. However, the speed is there and I will do my best to improve significantly tomorrow."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:

"An exciting qualifying and fight for Super Pole with Gary Paffett, the fastest driver today, missing pole position by nine thousandths of a second. Never before has it been closer. Bruno Spengler qualified last year's C-Class third on the grid which is also a great performance."

"The first three cars within 51 thousandths of a second and the three brands within less than three tenths of a second show the 2005 DTM's competitiveness. We had a small handicap because of the additional weight in the 2005 C-Class."

"The spectators here at the Norisring and the TV viewers can look forward to an exciting race at prime time tomorrow evening. We are in good shape."

Gary Paffett
DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes
Second, 48.455

Bruno Spengler
Mercedes Second Hand Cars
Third, 48.469

Jean Alesi
AMG-Mercedes
Fourth, 48.497

Mika Häkkinen
Sport Edition AMG-Mercedes
Seventh, 48.745

Jamie Green
Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes
Ninth, 48.869

Bernd Schneider
Vodafone AMG-Mercedes
Tenth, 48.959

Stefan Mücke
Mücke Motorsport AMG-Mercedes
16th, 49.046

Alexandros Margaritis
Mücke Motorsport AMG-Mercedes
18th, 49.207

-mercedes-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Norisring qualifying

Next article Norisring as seen by Stippler

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

3 h

Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale

Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

4 h

Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale

Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title

NASCAR Cup

NAS NASCAR Cup

Homestead-Miami

4 h

Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title

Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Sao Paulo GP

5 h

Winners and losers from F1's chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix

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.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts