Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt / Audi A4 DTM #5)
2nd, “Super Pole“, 1m 45.511s
“Today, I drove the A4 in rain for the first time, and this was quite exciting.
Everything went very well, and I clinched third place, closely following the
front runners. The crucial thing during the super pole was to keep the car
on the track under these difficult conditions. Although I might have been
able to clinch pole on dry asphalt, I’m happy to be starting from the first
row.”
Christian Abt (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline / Audi A4 DTM #11)
10th,“Super Pole“, 1m 59.893s
“Under difficult qualifying conditions, I managed to make it into the super
pole session, that’s why I’m quite happy with my result. During the single
timed lap, the track was getting faster and faster. Because I had to go out
on the track so early, more than a tenth place was hardly in it for me. Now,
I’m looking forward to tomorrow, because with the setup for the race my A4
is really quick.”
Emanuele Pirro (Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest / Audi A4 DTM #44)
11th, 1m 59.240s
“I was really looking forward to this qualifying session very much. I like
rain, although I’d never driven the A4 in rain before. Unfortunately, a last-
minute change I’d made to the setup affected the car’s balance, causing it
to understeer heavily. At least, being eleventh on the grid is the best
starting position I’ve so far achieved in the DTM.“
Tom Kristensen (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline / Audi A4 DTM #12)
18th, 2m 00.406s
“Of course, I’m not satisfied with my result. Of all places, having to drive the
A4 in rain during the qualifying on this circuit, which is new for me - that
was tough. The track was very slippery, and I made some mistakes. After
changing the rear tyres, I had two more laps left. In the first, I made a
mistake, and the time I clocked in the second was taken away from me
due to yellow flags. Too bad, but tomorrow’s another day.”
Frank Biela (Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest / Audi A4 DTM #45)
19th, 2m 00.650s
“The track was very slippery during the qualifying session, with hardly any
grip. Still, cornering was less of a problem, though braking was. The
wheels quickly started to lock, that’s why I slid off the track twice. What’s
more, my fastest lap was not counted, although I took my foot off the
throttle in the respective sector.“
Martin Tomczyk (Audi Sport Team Abt / Audi A4 DTM #6)
21st, 2m 01.255s
“My A4 was running well in the rain, too, and I probably would’ve made it to
the front of the field again. Unfortunately, there were some
communications problems with my team. Consequently, I was able to do
only one timed lap. Of course, the result that came out of this is
disappointing. But I’m definitely going to fight in the race. My goal is still to
be scoring points again.”
Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline)
“It’s the fourth race of the year, and for the fourth time a blue Audi A4 DTM
will be starting from the first row on the grid – I think we can be satisfied
with this. Our decision to use slicks was right on target. And, once again,
Mattias made the best of the situation. Now, if he can manage a good start
on top of that, we’ll have very good chances in tomorrow’s race.”
Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Infineon Team Joest)
“In rain you always need a little luck and that’s, unfortunately, what we
didn’t have. Emanuele was doing a very good lap, which he had to stop on
account of the yellow flags. Otherwise, he might have even qualified for the
super pole session. Frank’s fastest time was not counted, although he
took his foot off the gas in the sector with the yellow flags.”
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport)
“Mattias’ result is, once again, a superior achievement. Under difficult
conditions, he made the best of the situation. Clearly, it must be
recognised that he was the first to have the courage to go out with slicks,
while the track was still partially wet, and that the two drivers after him no
doubt had better conditions. Unfortunately, overall, our team performance
today was not all that great. We simply don’t have a lot of experience yet
with the Audi A4 DTM in the rain.”
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