Hockenheim, Germany - We had a nice change in weather this morning with the sunshine! After the downpour we had yesterday, it was great to see the sun.When he arrived at the track, Canadian driver and Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler was still highly optimistic and motivated. In the last practice session held this morning, he set the 7th fastest. Audi again dominated the session with 4 cars in the Top 4.
DTM qualifying is similar to what is done in Formula 1 with three consecutive, eliminating rounds. The well publicized Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes) did not find enough speed and was kicked out of the first round! Welcome to DTM, Ralf...In round 2, it was the turn of five-time series' champion Bernd Schneider to be kicked out. Spengler and two other Merc drivers (Di Resta and Jamie Green) made it to Q3. Di Resta set the 3rd fastest time behind the mighty Audis of Timo Scheider and Mattias Ekstrom. But on his last run on new tires, Spengler drove his heart out and bumped Di Resta out of 3rd place.
"I am happy with 3rd place but I could have gone quicker, said Spengler. I'm too slow in sector 1. I am fastest of all in sector 2, but sector 1 is still a problem for me. I don't find enough grip and the car slides a bit. I don't feel confident and I lose a lot of time in the fast corner 1. But tomorrow will be another day. The race could be a totally different story. Who knows what can happen, especially with the new pit stop regulation. Strategy will play a major role. I'm looking forward to the race."In other news, Finland's Mika Maki won the opening round of the Formula 3 Euroseries today. Pole position starter Nico Hulkenberg - team Williams' test driver - retired with a broken engine. After Kimi Raikkonen and Heikki Kovalainen, here's another Finn on his way to Formula 1...I'll talk to you tomorrow after the DTM race. Best regards from Germany.
photo: René Fagnan - Auto123.com