Paul Di Resta (Mercedes Classe C) set in for the pole position after the qualifying session in Oschersleben Saturday. He qualified ahead of his teammate, Canadian driver Bruno Spengler.
After Mercedes' domination in the beginning of the season, Audi was hoping to strike back this week-end in Oschersleben. Last year, Dr Wolfgang Ulrich’s squad took a dominant win, as Mercedes struggled with 20kg of excess weight.
Indeed, Timo Scheider, winner last year, set the pace in the first free practices. He was the best in both sessions. But Mercedes drivers Paul Di Resta and Bruno Spengler beat the German driver in qualifying.
Both drivers are back-to-back in the standings after they secured a 1-2 in Brands Hatch (Di Resta won in England). Bruno Spengler still leads, but Di Resta moved up to second place, nine points behind his teammate.
Gary Paffett (Mercedes) had a disappointing performance, as the Brit took the 10th spot only in qualifying.
"I am quite happy after this qualifying session, Spengler told Auto123.com. The team did a great job and the car made a lot of progress on this kind of track.
"Last year, we were dominated by Audi, today we secured 1-2. I made a little mistake in Q4, which cost me a bit, but I am still happy with second position.
"Tomorrow, I will start from the inside line, so everything is possible, even if it's the dirty part of the track. We have to be careful and escape from the first two corners. Then we must be fast and regular.”
Qualifying result :
1. Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C Class 09) - HWA - 1'21"394 – Q4
2. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes C Class 09) - Persson - 1'21"655 – Q4
3. Mike Rockenfeller (Audi A4 08) - Phoenix - 1'21"836 – Q4.
4. Timo Scheider (Audi A4 09) - Abt - 1'22"067 – Q4
5. Martin Tomczyk (Audi A4 09) - Abt - 1'21"432 - Q3
6. Mattias Ekstrom (Audi A4 09) - Abt – 1'21"514 - Q3.
7. Oliver Jarvis (Audi A4 09) - Abt - 1'21"654 - Q3
8. Miguel Molina (Audi A4 08) - Abt - 1'21"688 - Q3
9. Jamie Green (Mercedes C Class 08) - HWA - 1'21"664 - Q2.
10. Gary Paffett (Mercedes C Class 09) - HWA - 1'21"707 - Q2
Etc.
After Mercedes' domination in the beginning of the season, Audi was hoping to strike back this week-end in Oschersleben. Last year, Dr Wolfgang Ulrich’s squad took a dominant win, as Mercedes struggled with 20kg of excess weight.
Indeed, Timo Scheider, winner last year, set the pace in the first free practices. He was the best in both sessions. But Mercedes drivers Paul Di Resta and Bruno Spengler beat the German driver in qualifying.
Both drivers are back-to-back in the standings after they secured a 1-2 in Brands Hatch (Di Resta won in England). Bruno Spengler still leads, but Di Resta moved up to second place, nine points behind his teammate.
Gary Paffett (Mercedes) had a disappointing performance, as the Brit took the 10th spot only in qualifying.
"I am quite happy after this qualifying session, Spengler told Auto123.com. The team did a great job and the car made a lot of progress on this kind of track.
"Last year, we were dominated by Audi, today we secured 1-2. I made a little mistake in Q4, which cost me a bit, but I am still happy with second position.
"Tomorrow, I will start from the inside line, so everything is possible, even if it's the dirty part of the track. We have to be careful and escape from the first two corners. Then we must be fast and regular.”
Qualifying result :
1. Paul Di Resta (Mercedes C Class 09) - HWA - 1'21"394 – Q4
2. Bruno Spengler (Mercedes C Class 09) - Persson - 1'21"655 – Q4
3. Mike Rockenfeller (Audi A4 08) - Phoenix - 1'21"836 – Q4.
4. Timo Scheider (Audi A4 09) - Abt - 1'22"067 – Q4
5. Martin Tomczyk (Audi A4 09) - Abt - 1'21"432 - Q3
6. Mattias Ekstrom (Audi A4 09) - Abt – 1'21"514 - Q3.
7. Oliver Jarvis (Audi A4 09) - Abt - 1'21"654 - Q3
8. Miguel Molina (Audi A4 08) - Abt - 1'21"688 - Q3
9. Jamie Green (Mercedes C Class 08) - HWA - 1'21"664 - Q2.
10. Gary Paffett (Mercedes C Class 09) - HWA - 1'21"707 - Q2
Etc.