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Hockenheim DTM: MIke Rockenfeller takes race two pole for Audi

Mike Rockenfeller pipped Audi team-mate Miguel Molina to take pole position for the second race of Hockenheim's DTM season opener, in a frenetic, drying qualifying session

Rain returned to the region overnight, and the morning's 15-minute warm-up was run in the wet.

Drivers started qualifying on wet tyres 90 minutes later, however the improving conditions meant they began switching to slicks within six minutes.

What followed was countless changes at the top of the order between 10 different drivers as times fell by 10 seconds, eventually getting within 1.5s of Jamie Green's lap to claim pole on Saturday in the dry.

Paul di Resta was making the biggest inroads and with three minutes remaining he led the field into the 1m35s bracket. However, such was the rate of improvement, he ended the session 12th.

Rockenfeller started the final minute on top, but was displaced by Mattias Ekstrom, who improved again after the chequered flag.

Behind him on the track, though, Rockenfeller recorded a 1m34.516s to secure pole while Miguel Molina went within 0.030s of his time moments later, demoting Ekstrom to third in an all-Audi top three.

Molina will start fifth due to earning a three-place grid penalty for a Saturday clash with Antonio Felix da Costa.

Reigning champion Macro Wittmann was fourth, ahead of Edoardo Mortara, Martin Tomczyk and da Costa.

While Gary Paffett - his C-Coupe rebuilt after being collected by Tomczyk on Saturday afternoon - was the best of the Mercedes drivers in eighth, track position and traffic at the death appeared more of a factor than pace for the brand's drivers.

Saturday winner Green will start the one-hour race from 19th on the grid in his Audi.

UPDATE: Paffett and Adrien Tambay - who qualified 11th - will start from the rear of the grid.

They were excluded from the session for not having the rear wing spacer that blocks DRS during qualifying installed.

RACE TWO QUALIFYING:

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap
1 Mike Rockenfeller Phoenix Audi 1m34.516s -
2 Miguel Molina Abt Audi 1m34.546s 0.030s
3 Mattias Ekstrom Abt Audi 1m34.721s 0.205s
4 Marco Wittmann RMG BMW 1m34.968s 0.452s
5 Edoardo Mortara Abt Audi 1m35.089s 0.573s
6 Martin Tomczyk Schnitzer BMW 1m35.112s 0.596s
7 Antonio Felix da Costa Schnitzer BMW 1m35.113s 0.597s
8 Maxime Martin RMG BMW 1m35.304s 0.788s
9 Robert Wickens HWA Mercedes 1m35.361s 0.845s
10 Paul Di Resta HWA Mercedes 1m35.397s 0.881s
11 Augusto Farfus RBM BMW 1m35.446s 0.930s
12 Timo Scheider Phoenix Audi 1m35.485s 0.969s
13 Bruno Spengler MTEK BMW 1m35.514s 0.998s
14 Nico Muller Rosberg Audi 1m35.537s 1.021s
15 Timo Glock MTEK BMW 1m35.577s 1.061s
16 Pascal Wehrlein HWA Mercedes 1m35.579s 1.063s
17 Jamie Green Rosberg Audi 1m35.817s 1.301s
18 Lucas Auer ART Mercedes 1m36.017s 1.501s
19 Tom Blomqvist RBM BMW 1m36.101s 1.585s
20 Maximilian Gotz Mucke Mercedes 1m36.528s 2.012s
21 Christian Vietoris HWA Mercedes 1m36.988s 2.472s
22 Daniel Juncadella Mucke Mercedes 1m39.171s 4.655s
- Gary Paffett ART Mercedes 1m35.270s 0.754s
- Adrien Tambay Abt Audi 1m35.373s 0.857s


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