Day of revenge in the DTM at the Nurburgring: Winward-Mercedes driver Jules Gounon, who has had a difficult season so far, secured his first pole of the season in Sunday qualifying in just under 20 degrees and with initial fog.
The Frenchman even set a new lap record with 1:25.062, the previous mark having been held by Mirko Bortolotti from 2023 (1:25.118). McLaren youngster Ben Dorr finished second, 0.113 seconds down on the "Mamba" driver. But how did Gounon, who is only eleventh in the overall standings, manage to bounce back so strongly?
"Last night after the race I complained properly once again. And my mechanics and my engineer actually found a small problem with the differential, the cause of which we couldn't explain," the 31-year-old reveals to ran.de.
"This morning we fixed it, and the car drove fantastically. So I said on the radio: 'Okay guys, if that isn't good enough for P5, I don't understand motorsport anymore'." He was therefore also very happy for his team, "because when you work day and night to finish P5, P7, P10, that's not what you signed up for."
Dorr surprises, Cairoli back at the front after victory
Ben Dorr, whose team-mate Timo Glock (+0.670) finished only 19th, was also satisfied with second place, after taking his first DTM pole at the Nurburgring last year. "Last year from right at the front - but that didn't end well in the race. We'll try it from second place today, maybe it will work better from there," he says with a smile to ran.de.
Saturday winner Matteo Cairoli (+0.140) finished third. The driver fifth in the championship cuts his deficit in the overall standings to 36 points thanks to the point for third place.
Nevertheless, he is not entirely satisfied: "When you feel that you could perhaps get a little bit more - that tiny little bit more - out of it, but for some reason it doesn't work, then that's pretty annoying," the Emil Frey Ferrari driver tells ran.de, saying he left time in the third sector - and "especially in the final corner".
Thiim hits back with fire in his belly
Comtoyou Aston Martin driver Nicki Thiim was fourth. The halfway-stage champion, who after Saturday's race was completely frustrated and sharply criticised the DTM, returned to the front group with fourth place.
Thiim, whose Aston Martin is ten kilograms lighter and has been given more boost pressure as a result of a Balance of Performance (BoP) change, was 0.158 seconds off pole.
Starting directly behind him is DTM leader Maro Engel, who was 0.187 seconds down in fifth place. "I'm pleased for Jules," the 40-year-old Winward team-mate of polesitter Gounon tells ran.de. "He showed what was possible. We weren't quite good enough today to keep up in qualifying - but still a solid starting position."
DTM leader Engel's Mercedes 40 kilograms lighter today
Engel, whose Mercedes-AMG GT3 is 20 kilograms lighter than the previous day as a result of the changed BoP, will also race today without success ballast.
That makes his car a hefty 40 kilograms lighter than in Saturday's race. Schubert BMW driver Marco Wittmann (+0.194) was sixth, not looking quite as strong as the day before despite a likewise more favourable BoP. The reason? "Didn't put the lap together," the driver sixth in the overall standings makes clear. "The car was a bit nervous," he says. "So it was difficult to put all the sectors together."
Landgraf-Mercedes driver Lucas Auer, third in the overall standings, placed seventh. Manthey Porsche driver Thomas Preining, who had moved up to second in the overall standings with second place on Saturday, is eighth, 0.209 seconds off the pace.
"I'm super happy, the lap was mega - and everything exactly as expected," the Austrian tells ran.de - hinting that the classification of the Porsche is not entirely to his liking. Because while five cars were given a better classification than on Saturday, the BoP for the Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo remained unchanged.
Engelhart car withdrawn, tyre advantage for seven drivers
Maximilian Paul's replacement Christian Engelhart did not start, his Grasser Lamborghini not being fit for use after the collision with Thierry Vermeulen in Saturday's race. The Starnberg driver will also not take part in the race, meaning the field consists of 20 cars.
As always, the tyre gamble will be intriguing on Sunday: because numerous drivers ended the race before the first pit stop on Saturday, they have an unused set of tyres available - and at the Nurburgring the teams have to get through both race days with three sets. The tyres of those drivers who completed Saturday's race have therefore already taken quite a beating.
Holding an advantage are Schubert BMW driver Kelvin van der Linde (ninth), Landgraf-Mercedes driver Tom Kalender (eleventh), Abt Lamborghini driver Marco Mapelli (14th), Grasser Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti (16th) and Dorr McLaren driver Timo Glock (19th).
The two HRT Ford drivers even have three almost completely new sets available, as they completed hardly any laps in both qualifying and the race on Saturday because of the penalty for breaching the testing regulations. Arjun Maini (+0.376) finished qualifying in tenth place, Finn Wiebelhaus (+0.498) in 15th.
