Mercedes-AMG has extended its qualifying record in the DTM.
In a rain-soaked qualifying session at Misano on Saturday, Paul Di Resta secured the ninth consecutive pole position for the brand with the three-pointed star with a time of 1m46.826s.
Next up was his fellow Mercedes-AMG driver Edoardo Mortara (1m47.295s). This result means that at least two Mercedes-AMG drivers have lined up on the first two rows of the grid for twelve of the 13 races of this season so far.
“It was a good lap. I was already confident after free practice. Due to the weather, it was a little bit like a lottery. That was an important step for the championship. When I am also in this position after the race, I am even happier,” pole-sitter Di Resta said after qualifying for the first-ever night race in the history of the DTM.
Reigning DTM champion René Rast qualified with the third fastest time of 1m47.401s, “I had analysed the data and slightly changed the set-up after second free practice. That worked out. Getting a clean lap was difficult. When somebody was driving in front of me, the spray was extremely high, you couldn’t see the track anymore,” the Audi driver said.
The leader in the drivers’ standings, Gary Paffett, was classified fourth with a lap time of 1m47.434s, ahead of the best-placed BMW of Timo Glock.
Glock was only 135 thousandths of a second slower than the Brit. “That was hard work in these conditions. Getting a lap together in traffic was difficult. Fifth place, I am within striking distance. Mercedes-AMG is there, whatever the conditions, and is extremely strong. Now, we have to see that we can make Paul and Gary a little bit nervous. I think that we will start in the wet and then race into the dry,” Glock said.
Guest driver Alessandro (Alex) Zanardi was classified 19th with a time of 1m50.571s. “I would rather have had conditions remaining consistent. In the dry, I already felt really well. In the rain, it was challenging,” the BMW driver said about his first-ever DTM qualifying.