Zandvoort qual: Fassler on a roll

Fassler (Mercedes) made a great getaway, as did the Audi of Mattias Ekstrom, who outdragged team-mate Christian Abt off the line. From sixth on the grid, Schneider dropped to eighth, but made short work of Timo Scheider's Opel. AMG Mercedes colleague Uwe Alzen then let him through to sixth, but Bernd was unable to find his way past the Opel wall of Alain Menu and Manuel Reuter ahead of him.

Menu got ahead of his Opel partner early on, and resisted a stern challenge from Reuter at Tarzan at half distance. He held on until the end in fourth place, as Abt and Ekstrom tailed the jubilant Fassler to the finish.

The main race will include Aiello, who will start from the back of the grid. He watched the Sprint from the depths of the Abt Sportsline garage, and knows that Schneider must win the main event to take the title race down to the wire at Hockenheim this weekend - a tall order from sixth on the grid.


Marcel Fässler (CH) AMG Mercedes-Bend CLK, 8 laps
Christian Abt (D) Abt-Audi TT-R, +2.4s
Mattias Ekström (S) Abt-Audi TT-R, +2.8s
Alain Menu (CH) Euroteam Opel Astra V8 Coupé, +3.2s
Manuel Reuter (D) Phoenix Opel Astra V8 Coupe, +3.6s
Bernd Schneider (D) AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK, +4.0s