(Motorsport-Total.com) – First place and thus starting position left for Schubert-BMW driver Sheldon van der Linde after Saturday’s two-part DTM qualifying at the Norisring. The defending champion set the fastest lap time of 48.775 seconds on a 2.163 kilometer race course (at the starting grid).
Sheldon van der Linde is back on pole for BMW at Norisring
“I haven’t been so good here at the Norisring in four or five years,” the South African heart soars on “ran.de.” “I’m glad I’m in first place now. After so many years where I started from the back, I feel great.”
The Schubert driver understands how important the pole is at the Norisring, as it allows you to avoid getting caught in the winding at the station. “If you can stay here with a good strategy, anything can happen,” he aims for victory.
Preparing for the Porsche driver: Did the first group cost you the start?
Second place was won by Manthey EMA Porsche driver Thomas Preining, who was the fastest driver in group one with a time of 48.933 seconds, but had a defect in the early corner and therefore did not benefit from the extra rubber abrasion.
“I’ve kissed the wall once or twice,” Breening says at ran.de. But the DTM driver was “very happy” with his presence. The car loves hard braking and tight turns. Because of the short pavement and the overall concept of the car, we are very good at turning and using the brakes. That’s what really matters here “emphasizes the 911 GT3R’s famous trajectory on a stop-and-go street circuit with just four corners.”
The best time in Group A was not enough to secure pole position
The grid positions are assigned alternately, group by group, regardless of lap times, with the fastest group starting on the left and the slowest group on the right: Bernhard Ayhancan Güven driver in third, another Porsche driver, followed by HRT driver Luca Stolz in fourth followed by the Mercedes driver – AMG first.
The best Audi and the best Lamborghini are in the third row
The fastest Audi and Lamborghini drivers, Abt driver Kelvin van der Linde, and SSR driver Mirko Bortolotti, were fifth and sixth. Sheldon van der Linde’s teammate Rene Rast starts from seventh in the second-best BMW.
Mirko Bortolotti pulled it all out of his Lamborghini
“It was absolutely the ultimate,” said Bortolotti at run.de with satisfaction. “She hit a perfect lap, every braking point precise. I was pretty sure she could do it for pole, but it just wasn’t good enough.”
It was a disappointment for Landgraf Mercedes driver Maro Engel, who led the first group and finished only 14th. Local champion Marco Wittmann will have to settle for 17th place. The disappointment of Further, who had set his sights on winning, was evident.
Disappointed in Marco Whitman
“I have to look at the data now, especially for Sheldon, who is on P1. I have no idea where the difference is.” He is confused at “ran.de”. “I see where Sheldon wins and makes up time. Maybe it’s on the straight, in the corners or on the brakes. Those three factors are here at the Norisring.”
Local hero Marco Wittmann had a disappointing qualifying experience
Ferrari drivers Jack Aitken and Thierry Vermeulen, who had driven in different qualifying groups and only finished 25th and 26th on the grid, suffered a disastrous qualifying session. The Emil Frey team, which has competed in the ADAC GT Masters until now, had no experience on the Norisring street circuit.
Updated: After qualifying, Patrick Niederhauser (Atempo Audi) was disqualified. There was a violation of the Parc ferme rules because the team removed the car from the Parc ferme area. The Swiss qualified 23rd on the grid. He now has to start from the back.
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