Red Bull Ring DTM: Paffett claims pole by 0.028s
DTM title contender Gary Paffett took pole position for the Sunday DTM race at the Red Bull Ring, beating Nico Muller by 0.028s.
Photo by: Andreas Beil
In damp conditions, Audi looked strongest in the early stages as four different drivers led the way and Rene Rast ended the first half of qualifying in first place.
Rast stayed in first until the final minute of qualifying when Mercedes' Pascal Wehrlein demoted him, only for Muller to immediately move ahead of the former F1 driver.
However, Paffett then went two tenths quicker and topped the session with a 1m23.404s, as Muller's last-gasp improvement fell just short.
Paffett's rival and points leader Paul di Resta will start third as two more Mercedes drivers Edoardo Mortara and Wehrlein completed the top five.
Joel Eriksson was the top BMW in sixth ahead of Timo Glock and Rast, who did not improve on his time in the late stages.
Daniel Juncadella, stripped of a win with a last-lap penalty on Saturday, was ninth as Philipp Eng completed the top 10.
Lucas Auer, who spent the first half of the session in the pits with mechanics working in the car, was 14th.
Mercedes wildcard Sebastien Ogier rounded out the order in 19th, but was only 0.248s slower than Loic Duval in 18th.
Qualifying results
| Cla | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gary Paffett |
Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 12 | 1'23.404 | |
| 2 |  Nico Müller |
Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1'23.432 | 0.028 |
| 3 |  Paul di Resta |
Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 13 | 1'23.632 | 0.228 |
| 4 |  Edoardo Mortara |
Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 13 | 1'23.712 | 0.308 |
| 5 |  Pascal Wehrlein |
Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 14 | 1'23.748 | 0.344 |
| 6 |  Joel Eriksson |
BMW M4 DTM | 12 | 1'23.773 | 0.369 |
| 7 |  Timo Glock |
BMW M4 DTM | 12 | 1'23.853 | 0.449 |
| 8 |  René Rast |
Audi RS5 DTM | 12 | 1'23.866 | 0.462 |
| 9 |  Daniel Juncadella |
Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 14 | 1'23.885 | 0.481 |
| 10 |  Philipp Eng |
BMW M4 DTM | 13 | 1'23.969 | 0.565 |
| 11 |  Robin Frijns |
Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1'24.014 | 0.610 |
| 12 | Jamie Green |
Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1'24.040 | 0.636 |
| 13 | Mike Rockenfeller |
Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1'24.070 | 0.666 |
| 14 | Lucas Auer |
Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 9 | 1'24.133 | 0.729 |
| 15 |  Bruno Spengler |
BMW M4 DTM | 13 | 1'24.185 | 0.781 |
| 16 |  Augusto Farfus |
BMW M4 DTM | 14 | 1'24.250 | 0.846 |
| 17 |  Marco Wittmann |
BMW M4 DTM | 13 | 1'24.422 | 1.018 |
| 18 |  Loic Duval |
Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1'24.452 | 1.048 |
| 19 |  Sébastien Ogier |
Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 13 | 1'24.700 | 1.296 |
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