Ekstrom claims pole at Hockenheim
Mattias Ekstrom took pole position for the DTM season opener at Hockenheim on Saturday, as Audi locked out the top five places on the grid
The Swedish driver came out on top in the new qualifying format, where the top four runners each had one lap to challenge for pole.
Ekstrom just edged Tom Kristensen for the top spot, while Martin Tomczyk was third and Oliver Jarvis starred in his 2008 Audi to take fourth place.
That left reigning champion Timo Scheider missing out on the pole shootout. He will line up fifth alongside his title rival from last year Paul di Resta.
Behind di Resta, Maro Engel was the only other Mercedes to get into the top 10. The German will start seventh in his one-year-old car, with Markus Winkelhock alongside.
Alexandre Premat and Mike Rockenfeller made sure that four of the one-year-old Audis made the top 10, while 2005 champion Gary Paffett had to settle for 11th on the grid for his first race in a brand new car since he won the 2005 title.
There was more bad news for the HWA-Mercedes team, as Ralf Schumacher could only manage 12th behind Paffett, while Bruno Spengler ran out of fuel and came to a halt in the pit entrance during Q1.
That leaves the Canadian starting the race from the back row of the grid, where he will be joined by Jamie Green, who did not take part in qualifying as his Persson Motorsport team changed his engine after free practice.
Pos Driver Car Time 1. Mattias Ekstrom Audi 1m32.535s 2. Tom Kristensen Audi 1m32.672s 3. Martin Tomczyk Audi 1m33.004s 4. Oliver Jarvis Audi 1m33.182s 5. Timo Scheider Audi 1m32.391s 6. Paul di Resta Mercedes 1m32.456s 7. Maro Engel Mercedes 1m32.714s 8. Markus Winkelhock Audi 1m32.970s 9. Alexandre Premat Audi 1m32.786s 10. Mike Rockenfeller Audi 1m32.923s 11. Gary Paffett Mercedes 1m33.072s 12. Ralf Schumacher Mercedes 1m33.226s 13. Katherine Legge Audi 1m33.296s 14. Susie Stoddart Mercedes 1m33.339s 15. Mathias Lauda Mercedes 1m34.360s 16. Tomas Kostka Audi 1m34.523s 17. Christian Bakkerud Audi 1m34.618s 18. Johannes Seidlitz Audi 1m35.283s 19. Bruno Spengler Mercedes 20. Jamie Green Mercedes
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