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Qualifying report

Grid position three for Audi at the Lausitzring

Audi in strong position with four RS 5 DTM cars in top eight.

Jamie Green, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline Audi RS 5 DTM

Jamie Green, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline Audi RS 5 DTM

XPB Images

Ingolstadt/Klettwitz - Audi newcomer Jamie Green gave himself a gift a day after his 31st birthday. The Briton from Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline in qualifying for the DTM race at the Lausitzring (Sunday starting at 13:15, local time, live on “Das Erste”) took third place as the best Audi driver.

Jamie Green, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline Audi RS 5 DTM
Jamie Green, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline Audi RS 5 DTM

Photo by: XPB Images

Green in his Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM showed a remarkable performance right in the morning, driving the fastest lap in free practice. In the afternoon, he managed to battle his way into the crucial qualifying segment for the first time since switching to Audi and secured position three on the grid with a strong lap in Q4. “

The first three races with Audi weren’t optimal for me,” said Green. “I had to get used to the car and the team first. But now I’m back. This morning, I was the quickest and now in qualifying the fastest Audi driver. I’m happy and hoping to finish on the podium tomorrow. Mercedes was very strong today but they were very strong here last year as well.”

A total of four Audi drivers will be starting the race from the first four rows on Sunday. The runner-up in the standings, Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Phoenix), will start alongside front runner Bruno Spengler from the third row. Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra RS 5 DTM) und Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg) are sharing the fourth row.

Mortara’s team-mate Filipe Albuquerque (Audi Financial Services RS 5 DTM) achieved the thirteenth-fastest time but is moving up to position twelve because BMW driver Augusto Farfus received a five-position grid penalty due to a violation in free practice.

Miguel Molina (Audi RS 5 DTM) was struck by major misfortune: The Spaniard achieved the ninth-best time in Q1 but due to a technical problem on the driveline was unable to participate in Q2 and will therefore start from position 16.

Qualifying ended in disappointment for Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM) and Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM): Both two-time DTM Champions, in 17th and 18th place respectively, were eliminated right in Q1.

“Today, we’ve seen how quickly the tables can turn,” commented Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “BMW most recently was regarded as dominant and suddenly Mercedes is very strong here – especially in sector one. We’re not unhappy with four RS 5 DTM cars in the top eight, although the gap to the front runners is unusually large considering what the gaps typically are in the DTM.

I’m hoping for this to change tomorrow. It’s nice that the showing by our ‘birthday child’ Jamie Green was on the mark for the first time today with respect to what we expected of him. And Mike Rockenfeller, our driver with the highest points score, has got a decent starting base with position six on the grid as well.”

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “I’m very happy for Jamie Green, who in his first three races for Audi suffered an incredible amount of misfortune. That he didn’t bury his head in the sand but, together with his engineer, the team, and Audi Sport, worked hard to get to where we expected him to be, which is very far at the front, says something for him.”

Dieter Gass (Head of DTM): “We’ve got a good team result with four cars in the top eight. Unfortunately, there’s no Audi at the very front this time. But basically, Jamie’s (Green) third place is a good starting base too. After having been unfortunate at the beginning of the season, he showed here what he’s capable of achieving if everything goes its normal course. I’m hoping for him to be able to up the ante a bit more in the race.”

Jamie Green (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM, grid position 3): “I’m very happy. After the first three races didn’t go so smoothly, it’s nice that I’m finally where I should be. Being so far at the front in the Audi for the first time takes a big load off my shoulders. It feels very good.”

Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM, grid position 6): “Sixth place isn’t what I’d been hoping for. But we all know how hard it is to even get there. In Q1 and Q2, I didn’t get too many things wrong. But in Q3, I made a mistake – and that’s enough to keep you from moving forward. Still, sixth place is a good starting base for tomorrow’s race.”

Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra RS 5 DTM, grid position 7): “I’m happy to have made it into Q3. It’s not a pole position but I’m back again where I wanted to be as a minimum. We can have a strong race if we make optimal use of the option tires and the DRS with a good strategy.”

Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM, grid position 8): “I had a good car. In Q3, though, I didn’t have a perfect feeling and it took me a long time to drive a good lap – I only managed to do that on the fourth lap. In the first races, we saw that the strategy is very important and that a good result is possible even if you didn’t finish qualifying in the top five. That’s what we’re going to try tomorrow.”

Filipe Albuquerque (Audi Financial Services RS 5 DTM, grid position 12): “My aim was Q3, but unfortunately that wasn’t possible. I had some traffic, which caused me to lose my rhythm. But position twelve on the grid is okay because in this season anything’s possible in the race.”

Miguel Molina (Audi RS 5 DTM, grid position 16): “In Q1, I had a fast car and was able to drive a good lap. But on the last lap, I had a technical problem. I wanted to drive to the pits but the car was too heavily damaged. That’s why I wasn’t able to run in Q2. That’s a shame because today I’d have had a good car for qualifying.”

Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM, grid position 17): “We didn’t have a good set-up; I didn’t feel comfortable in the cockpit. Obviously, 17th place is disappointing. We’ve always been good in qualifying this season so far and then had poor race results. Maybe this weekend we’ll have a strong race result after a weak qualifying for a change.”

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM, grid position 18): “In the beginning, we were too slow. We’ve just simply got to improve. The race will be long and hard but we’re going to give our best to advance.”

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “’Well done’ to Jamie (Green), I think he ‘arrived’ today. We know that he’s strong at the Lausitzring and he showed a fantastic performance as the best Audi driver. We can be pleased as a team and need to concentrate on him in the race, as ‘Eki’ and Timo (Scheider) weren’t so good. ‘Well done’ also to Adrian Tambay in seventh place. I’m hoping for something to come out of this in the race.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “Every lap in qualifying this year has got to fit one hundred percent in order to move forward. ‘Rocky’ managed this perfectly today, in sixth place there’s no reason for him to fear comparison. With a good strategy, anything’s possible in the race. It’s nice that both cars had the pace even though a technical problem occurred in Miguel’s (Molina) case. I’m optimistic for the race.”

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “I’d expected a bit more. Q1 was off to a very good start but then a few small mistakes crept in. Edo (Mortara) was in contention pretty well, but on his last attempt he was lacking a couple of tenths of a second, otherwise he’d have continued.”

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