Green is on the front row of the grid for the fourth time this season and at least one C-Class has been on the front row for eight out of ten DTM races this year.
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) posted a flying lap of 1:32.922 to qualify sixth for the last race of the season. Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.103) is on the fourth row in seventh position.
Qualifying 1: Jamie Green set the fastest time – 1:32.977 – in the first qualifying segment. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.539), David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.761) and Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.930) finished in P15, 16 and 17 respectively.
Qualifying 2: Gary Paffett secured second best time – 1:32.729 – in the second qualifying session. Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.172), Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.352) and Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class / 1:33.617) finished in P12, 13 and 14 respectively.
Comments on qualifying:
Jamie Green (AMG Mercedes C-Class) - Second (1:32.920):
“I had a clean lap in the final part of qualifying, but Miguel Molina was a little bit faster than me. I had hoped to get on pole, but second on the grid is a good starting position for the race. I won the last race of the season at the Hockenheim Ring once before, in 2007, so all being well, I can do it again tomorrow and we can round off the season with a home win for Mercedes-Benz.”
Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) - Sixth (1:32.922):
“Qualifying actually went better for me than free practice this morning. It was difficult to get tyres up to temperature – we rarely drive in such low temperatures as we have seen this weekend. We intend to do even better tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the race and will of course do my best.”
Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Cass) - Seventh (1:33.103):
“Seventh on the grid is not fantastic, but from this position it’s still possible to achieve a good race result on Sunday. At the season opener at the Hockenheimring earlier this season, I managed to move up the field from last place to finish in the points – so I'm optimistic about the race.”
Christian Vietoris (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) - Twelfth (1:33.172):
“It’s been a good weekend for me so far here in Hockenheim. I feel very comfortable in my C-class and my pace was consistently good in all sessions. We want to achieve a positive end to my first DTM season with our good race setup tomorrow.”
Ralf Schumacher (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 13th (1:33.352):
“I'm obviously not all that happy with 13th place on the grid – I had hoped for much more. I will once again do everything I can to secure the best possible result in the last DTM race of the season tomorrow.”
Renger van der Zande (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 14th (1:33.617):
“P14 is not quite the result I had hoped for after performing well in Valencia, but what really counts is the race on Sunday. The car suffered with oversteer and vibration in qualifying, which had not been apparent before this weekend. It’s not impossible to overtake and move up the field here at Hockenheim, and that's what I intend doing at the last race of the season.”
Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 15th (1:33.539):
“I wasn’t fast enough today unfortunately – a few things weren’t 100 per cent right. In a field as competitive as the DTM, you can soon find yourself dropping out of qualifying early. Too bad, I’d hoped for more, but I’ll do my best again tomorrow.”
David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) – 16th (1:33.761):
“I had hoped for more than 16th place in the final qualifying session of the season. Actually, I thought I had done enough to go through to the next stage in qualifying, since the balance of my C-Class was really good. In the cool conditions, however, getting the tyres up to temperature wasn’t easy.”
Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) - 17th (1:33.930):
“It’s a pity. I feel that I could have done better today, but still couldn’t manage to qualify higher than 17th. Obviously, I had been hoping to be start from higher up the grid in my first race as Mrs Wolff. But there’s everything still to play for, so I’ll have to be on the prowl, just like a real wolf tomorrow.”
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
“Jamie Green will start from the front row in his C-Class for the final race of the season, and we have three cars on the first four rows of the grid thanks to Bruno Spengler and Gary Paffett. Our long runs in yesterday's race simulations were good and, after achieving 84 victories in 158 races with the C-class, securing number 85 in its swansong race tomorrow would, of course, be a fantastic result. This weekend marks the end of a special era in DTM history and the arrival of our new competitor BMW next season will add even more prestige to this unique series.”
Source: Daimler AG
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