DTM Hockenheim: Porsche takes pole as Engel challenges Preining
Drama in the final DTM qualifying at Hockenheim - and once again the weather plays the leading role: sudden rain throws the teams' strategies into disarray. Pole goes to a Porsche driver, but not DTM leader Thomas Preining: Land Porsche rookie Bastian Buus secures the best starting position in 1:36.923 ahead of Manthey brand colleague Ricardo Feller, who was just six thousandths ... Keep reading
Drama unfolded during the final DTM qualifying at Hockenheim, with the weather adding an extra layer of uncertainty. The weather brought sudden rain, which altered the strategies of the competing teams. Bastian Buus secured pole position for the Porsche team, starting in 1:36.923, ahead of his Manthey brand colleague Ricardo Feller. Buus expressed surprise at securing his first DTM pole, saying, "I didn't expect it."
However, the favored Porsche driver Preining ended up in seventh place, 0.306 seconds behind pole. This creates an exciting title decider, as Winward Mercedes driver Maro Engel secured third place, gaining one point in the championship and now trailing Preining by 21 points. Engel's team-mate Jules Gounon placed fourth, while Maro Engel himself was happy with his qualifying result. He stated, "It was a good qualifying lap, the car was good."
Preining, however, remained positive about his chances, saying, "It could have gone a lot worse." He acknowledged the small issues with the warm-up and the tyres, but remained confident, saying, "Fundamentally, with seventh place, we still have a result we can work with."
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