Zandvoort BMW: Augusto Farfus leads BMW qualifying domination
Augusto Farfus secured his first DTM pole position in nearly two years, as BMW dominated qualifying for Saturday's race at Zandvoort
After topping the final practice session, Farfus moved into top spot with three minutes remaining with a 1m31.266s lap.
It was three tenths clear at the time, and even though drivers continued to improve, it remained good enough to lead an all-BMW top four, as seven of the brand's eight drivers finished inside the top 10.
"It's a long time since I've been on pole position," Farfus, whose last pole came at the Nurburgring in August 2013, said.
"I think this weekend we have a good balance in the car, and a good feeling.
"The track was just improving, I managed to put a good lap time together, and I'm really happy."
Reigning champion Marco Wittmann and Antonio Felix da Costa were second and third with identical times, just 0.008 seconds behind Farfus.
Having set his time earlier, Wittmann got the nod, while da Costa began his final lap with a purple first sector but wasn't able to improve and Maxime Martin was fourth.
"There's a little bit of mixed feelings," da Costa admitted. "I think we had the power to take pole."
With tyres going off after a single lap, the track was largely empty during the middle of the session.
Gary Paffett was on top of the times when that stretch ended with four minutes left, and while he improved late, it wasn't enough to stay ahead.
He ended the session three tenths behind the BMWs in fifth, the sole shining light for Mercedes.
Its next best was runner Pascal Wehrlein in 15th, while Paul di Resta went off late in the session and will start 22nd.
Jamie Green was sixth, followed by three more BMWs - Timo Glock, Tom Blomqvist and Bruno Spengler.
Green's Audi stablemate Miguel Molina completed the top 10.
QUALIFYING RESULTS:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Augusto Farfus | RBM | BMW | 1m31.266s | - |
| 2 | Marco Wittmann | RMG | BMW | 1m31.274s | 0.008s |
| 3 | Antonio Felix da Costa | Schnitzer | BMW | 1m31.274s | 0.008s |
| 4 | Maxime Martin | RMG | BMW | 1m31.363s | 0.097s |
| 5 | Gary Paffett | ART | Mercedes | 1m31.570s | 0.304s |
| 6 | Jamie Green | Rosberg | Audi | 1m31.627s | 0.361s |
| 7 | Timo Glock | MTEK | BMW | 1m31.647s | 0.381s |
| 8 | Tom Blomqvist | RBM | BMW | 1m31.650s | 0.384s |
| 9 | Bruno Spengler | MTEK | BMW | 1m31.656s | 0.390s |
| 10 | Miguel Molina | Abt | Audi | 1m31.668s | 0.402s |
| 11 | Adrien Tambay | Abt | Audi | 1m31.686s | 0.420s |
| 12 | Edoardo Mortara | Abt | Audi | 1m31.701s | 0.435s |
| 13 | Mike Rockenfeller | Phoenix | Audi | 1m31.735s | 0.469s |
| 14 | Martin Tomczyk | Schnitzer | BMW | 1m31.758s | 0.492s |
| 15 | Pascal Wehrlein | HWA | Mercedes | 1m31.775s | 0.509s |
| 16 | Nico Muller | Rosberg | Audi | 1m31.783s | 0.517s |
| 17 | Christian Vietoris | HWA | Mercedes | 1m31.855s | 0.589s |
| 18 | Robert Wickens | HWA | Mercedes | 1m31.855s | 0.589s |
| 19 | Mattias Ekstrom | Abt | Audi | 1m32.005s | 0.739s |
| 20 | Lucas Auer | ART | Mercedes | 1m32.141s | 0.875s |
| 21 | Timo Scheider | Phoenix | Audi | 1m32.215s | 0.949s |
| 22 | Paul Di Resta | HWA | Mercedes | 1m32.251s | 0.985s |
| 23 | Daniel Juncadella | Mucke | Mercedes | 1m32.264s | 0.998s |
| 24 | Maximilian Gotz | Mucke | Mercedes | 1m32.564s | 1.298s |
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