Green grabs Hockenheim pole

Green, in his rookie season with the Mercedes squad, outdid four-time Champion colleague Bernd Schneider in damp but drying conditions.

Schneider had the benefit running last in the single-lap Super Pole, by dint of setting the pace in the pre-qualifying session, but a mistake at the last corner cost him half a second.

Green said: "We've not driven on wet tyres in such dry conditions before, so it was difficult to know what to expect. I expected Bernd to beat my time, so when he made a mistake it was a surprise. Still, pole is pole."

That mistake allowed Tom Kristensen's Audi to jump up to second on the grid, this despite a major moment at Turn 1 when his A4 snapped out of control briefly across the treacherously wet kerbs. The rest of his lap was sublime, however, and he only missed out on pole by 0.076secs.

"I thought we had to go on slicks, but when I saw [Gary] Paffett was on wets, we stuck with what we originally chose," said Kristensen.

"I had a slow out lap, and didn't feel the grip level, which is what led to what happened at Turn 1. But I was the fastest in the motordrome, so maybe going wide helped cool the [treaded] tyres."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen was fourth fastest in the leading Opel, but over a second away from pole position. Frank Stippler was brave enough to go for slicks on his year-old Audi and was rewarded with fifth on the grid, beating Championship leader Gary Paffett, who decided not to gamble.

"Sixth isn't bad when you realise that Mattias is 15th," said Paffett. "It's a pity in terms of the Championship fight. It's going to be very hard for him to do anything from there."

Ekstrom, who missed the Super Pole after a disastrous pre-qualifying, fired back: "If Kimi Raikkonen can win a Grand Prix from 17th on the grid then why can't I win from 15th?"

Super Pole results:

Pos  Driver           Make                    Time
 1.  Jamie Green      AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse   1:45.294
 2.  Tom Kristensen   Audi A4 DTM             1:45.370 + 0.076
 3.  Bernd Schneider  AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse   1:45.871 + 0.577
 4.  H.H. Frentze     Opel Vectra GTS V8      1:45.888 + 0.594
 5.  Frank Stippler   Audi A4 DTM             1:46.961 + 1.667
 6.  Gary Paffett     AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse   1:47.141 + 1.847
 7.  Martin Tomczyk   Audi A4 DTM             1:49.328 + 4.034
 8.  Marcel Fassler   Opel Vectra GTS V8      1:49.378 + 4.084
 9.  Mika Hakkinen    AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse   1:50.303 + 5.009
10.  Laurent Aiello   Opel Vectra GTS V8      1:54.764 + 9.470

Final grid:

Pos  Driver           Make
 1.  Jamie Green      AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse
 2.  Tom Kristensen   Audi A4 DTM
 3.  Bernd Schneider  AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse
 4.  H.H. Frentze     Opel Vectra GTS V8
 5.  Frank Stippler   Audi A4 DTM
 6.  Gary Paffett     AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse
 7.  Martin Tomczyk   Audi A4 DTM
 8.  Marcel Fassler   Opel Vectra GTS V8
 9.  Mika Hakkinen    AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse
10.  Laurent Aiello   Opel Vectra GTS V8
11.  A. Margaritis    AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse
12.  Manuel Reuter    Opel Vectra GTS V8
13.  Bruno Spengler   AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse
14.  Jean Alesi       AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse
15.  Mattias Ekstrom  Audi A4 DTM
16.  Allan McNish     Audi A4 DTM
17.  Rinaldo Capello  Audi A4 DTM
18.  Christian Abt    Audi A4 DTM
19.  Pierre Kaffer    Audi A4 DTM
20.  Stefan Mucke     AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse