Spengler beats Kristensen to pole
Tom Kristensen came within 0.032 seconds of keeping his slim DTM title hopes alive in qualifying at Le Mans, but not even the seven-times 24 Hours winner could stop Mercedes rival Bruno Spengler from grabbing pole position with a lap he described as "extraordinary"
Importantly for Kristensen, however, his title rival Bernd Schneider of Mercedes failed to make it into the final segment of knock-out qualifying and will start ninth. Schneider only needs to score three points to ensure a record fifth DTM title, whereas Kristensen needs to win both remaining rounds.
'TK' looked to have things under control, his first 1:30.583 lap looking comfortable for pole early on. But the second run on new tyres gave Spengler his chance, and he took it despite locking up for the fast chicane on the back straight.
Although Kristensen improved to 1:30.518, Spengler banged in a 1:30.486 just seconds later.
"Bruno set a fantastic time to beat me," admitted Kristensen.
Double Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen will start third, albeit over three-tenths off the pole time, for Mercedes. Team-mate Jamie Green was next up, despite running in close proximity to Martin Tomczyk of Audi on his fastest lap.
Christian Abt was the fastest 2005-spec car in fifth, ahead of Alexandros Margaritis (Mercedes), Pierre Kaffer (Audi) and Tomczyk. Schneider will start ninth, ahead of Audi's Mattias Ekstrom.
Qualifying times:
Pos Driver Make Time 1. Bruno Spengler Mercedes 1:30.486 2. Tom Kristensen Audi 1:30.518 + 0.032 3. Mika Hakkinen Mercedes 1:30.853 + 0.367 4. Jamie Green Mercedes 1:31.062 + 0.576 5. Christian Abt Audi 1:31.089 + 0.603 6. Alexandros Margaritis Mercedes 1:31.324 + 0.838 7. Pierre Kaffer Audi 1:31.376 + 0.890 8. Martin Tomczyk Audi 1:31.483 + 0.997 9. Bernd Schneider Mercedes 1:30.668 10. Mattias Ekstrom Audi 1:30.907 11. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Audi 1:31.243 12. Frank Stippler Audi 1:31.380 13. Timo Scheider Audi 1:31.385 14. Daniel la Rosa Mercedes 1:31.500 15. Stefan Mucke Mercedes 1:31.569 16. Thed Bjork Audi 1:32.006 17. Jean Alesi Mercedes 1:32.046 18. Susie Stoddart Mercedes 1:32.311 19. Mathias Lauda Mercedes 1:32.436 20. Vanina Ickx Audi 1:32.812
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