Zolder DTM: Van der Linde claims pole for Audi in first qualifying
DTM points leader Kelvin van der Linde claimed Audi’s second pole position of the 2021 season in a tightly-contested first qualifying at Zolder.
Photo by: DTM
The session was delayed by seven minutes to allow the track to dry out completely, although some wet patches were still visible when the pitlane was opened at 10:07 local time.
Rowe Racing BMW driver Timo Glock was the first driver to break the 1m30s barrier as the track continued to evolve, before Team Rosberg’s Nico Muller set the fastest time of the weekend - a 1m27.735s - to put Audi on top.
There was more time to be found in the first runs, with Mike Rockenfeller lapping the Belgian circuit in 1m27.548s to lead his Abt Sportsline Audi team-mate Kelvin van der Linde.
When the drivers returned on track for the final five minutes of the session the track had dried out further, paving the way for more late improvements.
Rockenfeller improved on his own benchmark to strengthen his position, before Sheldon van der Linde snatched the top spot in the second of the Rowe Racing BMWs with a 1m27.499s.
HRT Mercedes driver Gotz then moved the goalposts further, a 1m27.054s moving him nearly half a second clear of the rest of the field.
However, that time didn’t prove to be enough for pole, with van der Linde outpacing him by just 0.021s to top qualifying for the second time this year.
Two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann enjoyed his best qualifying finish of the 2021 season, ending up just over a tenth off the pace in third position behind Gotz.
Red Bull Formula 1 reserve Alex Albon likewise put together his best one-lap performance of the year, a 1m27.225s putting him on the outside of the second row in fourth.
But Albon will start the first race from ninth place after being hit with a five-place grid penalty for speeding under a red flag in Friday practice.
Alex Albon, AF Corse Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo.
Photo by: DTM
Gotz’s team-mate Vincent Abril qualified another 0.035s adrift in fifth position, moving up to fourth with Albon's penalty, while Rockenfeller slipped behind Gotz in the final classification despite improving to 1m27.256s with a late flyer.
Lausitzring Race 1 winner Philip Ellis (Winward Mercedes) and T3 Motorsport driver Esteban Muth will start sixth and seventh respectively later this Saturday, the latter running a special art livery on his Lamborghini designed by Princess Delphine of Belgium.
Muller ended up ninth, up to eighth with Albon's penalty, in the best of the Team Rosberg Audis with an identical time to Muth, while Liam Lawson could manage only 10th in the second of the two AF Corse Ferraris.
Ex-F1 driver and Christian Klien qualified in 16th and over a second off the pace on McLaren’s debut in the DTM, despite a BoP boost handed to the sole JP Motorsport entry after the first practice on Friday.
The field was propped up by Glock, the 39-year-old classified 20th and last with a time of 1m28.529s.
Zolder DTM - First qualifying results:
Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | Kelvin van der Linde | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1'27.054 | |
2 | 4 | Maximilian Götz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'27.075 | 0.021 |
3 | 11 | Marco Wittmann | BMW M6 GT3 | 1'27.190 | 0.136 |
4 | 23 | Alex Albon | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 1'27.225 | 0.171 |
5 | 5 | Vincent Abril | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'27.244 | 0.190 |
6 | 9 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1'27.256 | 0.202 |
7 | 57 | Philip Ellis | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'27.272 | 0.218 |
8 | 10 | Esteban Muth | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 1'27.340 | 0.286 |
9 | 51 | Nico Müller | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1'27.340 | 0.286 |
10 | 30 | Liam Lawson | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 1'27.385 | 0.331 |
11 | 31 | Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M6 GT3 | 1'27.392 | 0.338 |
12 | 22 | Lucas Auer | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'27.436 | 0.382 |
13 | 18 | Maximilian Buhk | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'27.646 | 0.592 |
14 | 8 | Daniel Juncadella | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'27.688 | 0.634 |
15 | 36 | Arjun Maini | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'27.838 | 0.784 |
16 | 15 | Christian Klien | McLaren 720S GT3 | 1'28.191 | 1.137 |
17 | 12 | Dev Gore | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1'28.374 | 1.320 |
18 | 26 | Esmee Hawkey | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 1'28.477 | 1.423 |
19 | 99 | Sophia Flörsch | Audi R8 LMS Evo | 1'28.482 | 1.428 |
20 | 16 | Timo Glock | BMW M6 GT3 | 1'28.529 | 1.475 |
View full results |
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