Just like Nico Müller yesterday, René Rast has broken the DTM Series pole position record at the Norisring.
The German’s time was just under two tenths faster than the record Müller set yesterday.
Jamie Green and Müller will start in second and third, with Loïc Duval in fourth making it an Audi 1-2-3-4.
As the session got underway, home favourite Marco Wittmann was the driver to get the running underway much to the delight of his home crowd.
The drivers and teams were weary of potential rain, and with rain overnight the track was not in the condition they would have expected.
R-Motorsport Aston Martin‘s Paul di Resta was the quickest in the early stages but found himself demoted first by Philipp Eng and then Jonathan Aberdein.
The BMWs of Wittmann, Bruno Spengler, Philipp Eng then showed their hands by swapping first between themselves.
Not for long though, as the track became more rubbered in the times quickly began to tumble.
However, the running was halted after Timo Glock came to a stop on the track and prompted a brief red flag period.
At the time of the red flag the top ten was: Duval, Rast, Eng, Joel Eriksson, Aberdein, Spengler, Sheldon van der Linde, Wittmann, Robin Frijns and Ferdinand Habsburg.
This was because the majority of the drivers had not yet put in a quick lap.
When the red flag was over; Spengler, van der Linde, Habsburg, Müller, Dani Juncadella, di Resta, Jake Dennis and Green returned to track straight away as the rest of the field waited hoping by doing so the track will have more rubber down.
Müller used this as the opportunity to go to the top of the timings with Spengler slotting in behind in second.
Those that had been on track returned to the pits after being able to complete their first runs bringing a lull to the session.
With just over eight minutes only Aberdein and Pietro Fittipaldi on track.
That did not last for long as with seven and a half minutes remaining, the rest of the field returned to track to begin their final runs.
Friday’s pacesetter Rockenfeller found himself at the bottom of the standings as he struggled to get a quick lap in.
With four and a half minutes left, the drivers started pushing to find that extra time as Müller extended his advantage at the top of the timesheets.
Rockenfeller managed to find that time he had been missing and improved to second before being pushed to third by Green who is returning to the DTM this weekend after missing the previous round at Misano with appendicitis.
Unlike the session yesterday the drivers were finding more time in their second runs to improve on their positions.
As Green went quickest ahead of Müller with Duval making it an Audi 1-2-3; Müller then improved matching the lap-time of Green – with Green classified first of the two due to setting the time first.
However, yesterday’s race winner Rast was able beat the time of them both to snatch pole away right at the end with no time for anyone else to challenge it.
Therefore the top ten on the grid will be Rast, Green, Müller, Duval, Eng, Rockenfeller, Spengler, van der Linde, Wittmann and Aberdein.
Frijns missed out on the top ten, with Eriksson next to him in twelfth.
The Aston Martin trio of Juncadella, di Resta and Habsburg will line up thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth.
WRT‘s Fittipaldi starts ahead of Dennis will the stricken Glock completing the grid.
However, Green and Rockenfeller are under investigation for ‘non-respect of red flag’ with Habsburg also under investigation for an unsafe release.
The race will get underway at 13:30 local time.
2019 DTM Series: Norisring – Qualifying Two
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