Marco Wittmann posted the fastest lap time in qualifying for the DTM race on Saturday at Moscow Raceway. Nevertheless, the BMW driver will not be starting from pole position for today’s race. In the race at the Norisring, Wittmann incurred his third warning of the current season for an incident with Mattias Ekström and will be dropped five places on the grid as a result. Thus, the two Audi drivers René Rast and Mike Rockenfeller, who ended up second and third in qualifying, will be starting from the front row. Behind them, Augusto Farfus and Timo Glock are making it a white-and-blue second row.
With the fastest time of 1m27.035s, Wittmann went considerably faster than how own pole-winning time from the previous year when he was fastest on Sunday with a time of 1m28.776s. Gary Paffett, who was the best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver in ninth position, was over half a second down.
The Saturday race at Moscow Raceway will get underway at 14.40 hrs CET. The first German TV channel ARD is broadcasting live from Russia from 14.30 hrs onwards. Fans can watch the ninth DTM race of the season live at DTM.com.
Post-qualifying quotes
Marco Wittmann (BMW), 1st place: “With the penalty, this was the maximum I could do. This was really mega. We have made many changes on the car because I wasn’t totally happy in free practice. The changes really worked out well. Of course, I am happy with first place. Last year, I was on pole for the second race here and another first place in qualifying this year. I like the track and it seems to be working well for me every time. When you have pole, you want to keep it, but I have to deal with my five-place grid penalty. That is the minimum disadvantage that I could achieve, so from that point of view, everything is okay.”
René Rast (Audi), 2nd place: “This is a good result, especially as this is my first time here in Moscow. This position means another two points for the championship. In reality, I only ended up second but with the five-place grid penalty for Marco, I will be allowed to start from pole position. Here, there are many opportunities for overtaking. It is possible to make good use of the DRS here on the long straight. From that point of view, let’s wait and see what the race will bring.”
Mike Rockenfeller (Audi), 3rd place: “Had it not been for my foot, things perhaps could have gone a little bit better, but we have to make the best of it. Third place is not bad at all, we have been doing pretty well so far. The start will be decisive for me because that is still a challenge with my left foot. I hope that I will have a good getaway and a run to the first corner, and then we will see.”
Source : dtm.com
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