Schneider takes pole at Hockenheim

Schneider, who won the last DTM championship when it ran in 1995, will be joined on the front row by Manuel Reuter, the man who won the last International Touring Car title in 1996. "Pole position is a good start!", said Schneider after qualifying. "The team has worked really hard to get the cars ready, and you can see how close it is. The racing will also be very close, so starting from the front will be a big help. These cars are really fun to drive, more like a GT car than a touring car."

Reuter, driving for Opel, said: "I'm very happy to be on the front row, and being alongside Bernd brings back some very happy memories of the old DTM. This is very much as we hoped it would be - 15 drivers within a second, and the top three within a tenth of a second.

"I think it will be hard to pass in the race, because the cars are so close," he continued. "There's not much difference. I think the Mercedes have more downforce than us, but that makes them slower down the straights. But overall, we are evenly matched - as you can see from the times!

"It is great to have the DTM back, and to be part of it," continued Manuel. "It also is again a good opportunity to show new talent, and I'm very happy for Timo (Scheider) who is third. In his first year of F3 he nearly beat Nick Heidfeld. Now Heidfeld is a great German hope in F1, but here the DTM gives Timo a chance to show his potential again."

If it is experience that fills the front row, it is the young guns that are right on their heels on the second row. Timo Scheider (Opel) is third having matched Reuter's time exactly, and Marcel Fassler (Mercedes) is fourth.

Peter Dumbreck is the highest of the British hopes in eighth place, while Darren Turner is 11th after having recurring gearbox problems.

The all-new Audi TT-Rs had a tough time, with Christian Abt, Laurent Aiello and Kris Nissen ending up with the final three starting positions.

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, Hockenheim, Qualifying, Saturday

1, Bernd Schneider (Mercedes), 1m01.679s
2, Manuel Reuter (Opel) , 1m 01.773s
3, Timo Scheider (Opel), 1m 01.773s
4, Marcel Fässler (Mercedes), 1m 01.855s
5, Uwe Alzen (Opel), 1m 01.905s
6, Michael Bartels (Opel), 1m 01.924s
7, Thomas Jäger (Mercedes), 1m 02.098s
8, Peter Dumbreck (Mercedes), 1m 02.115s
9, Joachim Winkelhock (Opel), 1m 02.135ss
10, Eric Helary (Opel), 1m 02.276s
11, Darren Turner (Mercedes), 1m 02.518s
12, Cristian Menzel (Opel), 1m 02.521s
13, Marcel Tiemann (Mercedes), 1m 02.539s
14, Pedro Lamy (Mercedes), 1m 02.596s
15, Klaus Ludwig (Mercedes), 1m 02.648s
16, Stefano Modena (Opel), 1m 03.358s
17, Christian Abt (Audi), 1m 04.155s
18, Laurent Aiello (Audi), 1m 04.263s
19, Kris Nissen (Audi), 1m 05.467s