Nurburgring DTM: Muller beats Rast to Saturday pole
Nico Muller claimed pole position for the first of the DTM races at the Nurburgring’s grand prix layout on Saturday, beating Audi stablemate Rene Rast in a straight fight in qualifying.
With the track surface less abrasive than some of the other circuits used in the first half of the season, the drivers were able to complete as many as two push laps in one run.
Reigning champion Rast laid the initial benchmark with a time of 1m47.414s, the fastest lap of the weekend, before he was eclipsed by Muller’s 1m47.374s flyer.
Rast shot back on his second push lap to lap the circuit in 1m47.150s and, although Muller set the quickest time of everyone in the first sector, Rast held on to provisional pole by 0.027s.
The Team Rosberg driver improved further to 1m47.055s on his second run in qualifying, putting himself 0.122s clear of the championship leader.
However, Muller managed to regain the advantage on his final flyer, breaking the 1m47s barrier on his way to a stellar lap of 1m46.834s.
Rast opted against doing a second push lap on his final run, allowing Muller to claim his second pole position of the season by a healthy margin of 0.221s.
Robin Frijns, who had scored four pole positions in the opening eight races of the year, wasn’t in contention for a front-row start this time, qualifying half a second down on his Abt Audi teammate Muller in third.
Marco Wittmann finished as the strongest BMW driver in fourth, less than a tenth adrift of Frijns, but nearly seventh tenths slower than the pole time.
Audi's 2013 champion Mike Rockenfeller and WRT Audi driver Ferdinand Habsburg qualified fifth and sixth respectively, the two drivers separated by just 0.007s.
Sheldon van der Linde, who delivered BMW’s second victory of the season at Assen last weekend, was seventh, ahead of the Audis of Jamie Green and Loic Duval.
Philipp Eng made it three BMW drivers in the top 10, as the Bavarian brand again struggled against Audi on one-lap pace.
Robert Kubica finish 1.6s off the pace in 15th in the ART-run customer BMW, only out-qualifying the WRT Audi of Fabio Scherer.
Nurburgring DTM - Qualifying results:
| Cla | # | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 |  Nico Müller | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'46.834 | |
| 2 | 33 |  René Rast | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.055 | 0.221 |
| 3 | 4 |  Robin Frijns | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.428 | 0.594 |
| 4 | 11 | Marco Wittmann | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.493 | 0.659 |
| 5 | 99 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.549 | 0.715 |
| 6 | 62 |  Ferdinand Habsburg | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.556 | 0.722 |
| 7 | 31 |  Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.631 | 0.797 |
| 8 | 53 |  Jamie Green | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.642 | 0.808 |
| 9 | 28 |  Loic Duval | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.751 | 0.917 |
| 10 | 25 | Philipp Eng | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.938 | 1.104 |
| 11 | 22 | Lucas Auer | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'47.968 | 1.134 |
| 12 | 16 | Timo Glock | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'48.034 | 1.200 |
| 13 | 27 | Jonathan Aberdein | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'48.096 | 1.262 |
| 14 | 10 | Harrison Newey | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'48.206 | 1.372 |
| 15 | 8 |  Robert Kubica | BMW M4 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'48.450 | 1.616 |
| 16 | 13 | Fabio Scherer | Audi RS5 Turbo DTM 2020 | 1'48.935 | 2.101 |
| View full results | |||||
Kubica doesn't regret BMW choice despite Audi DTM dominance
Nurburgring DTM: Points leader Muller takes dominant win
How the DTM has come back stronger from its Norisring nadir
OPINION: Questionable driving standards and farcical team orders meant the DTM's first season under GT3 regulations ended under a cloud. But the organisation has responded firmly by banning team orders and welcomed new manufacturers, making for an intriguing season ahead as new and returning names prepare for battle.
The remarkable career of 'classy' champion Martin Tomczyk
Over two decades as a factory driver with Audi and BMW, Martin Tomczyk earned the respect of teammates and rivals as a hard but fair racer. After calling time on his racing career, the 2011 DTM champion sat down with Motorsport.com to look back.
Jamie Green: The other Hamilton conqueror seeking career revival
On his rise through the ranks before reaching Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton was usually a cut above the rest. But he never truly asserted himself over a Mercedes-backed fellow Briton who traded single-seaters for touring cars and is now seeking new opportunities after a year largely spent on the sidelines.
How the DTM's shambolic finale poses awkward future questions
OPINION: The scenes at the Norisring as Mercedes used blatant team orders to secure the first DTM title of the new GT3 era totally undermined the credibility of the championship. But as well as overshadowing the season, it also presents uncomfortable questions to series bosses about the direction it is headed in.
How Audi's new DTM flagbearer is closing on his "childhood dream"
Having learned the ropes in GT3 alongside Rene Rast, Kelvin van der Linde is in line to take up the three-time champion's baton as Audi's new DTM king. From humble origins in South Africa, it's been a remarkable journey so far for the current series leader, but he knows that the 2021 title is a long way from settled just yet.
The number-crunching behind the new-look DTM's equalisation drive
Switching to GT3 regulations marked a fresh start for the DTM in 2021, but it has also drawn a line in the sand against other series using similar cars by engaging AVL Racing to develop a bespoke Balance of Performance system. Here’s how it works.
The initial verdict on DTM's move to GT3 cars
OPINION: Facing collapse last year, the DTM has shifted its philosophy from a championship for silhouette-based touring cars to GT machines not too dissimilar to those racing across multiple series worldwide. But despite some initial BoP-based teething troubles, there were some pleasant findings as the 'new DTM' got underway at Monza
Why Albon has his work cut out in the new-look DTM
The DTM moves into its bold new GT3 era with welcome support from Red Bull, which enters two AF Corse-run Ferraris. That includes one for ex-F1 driver Alex Albon, who’s determined to make a success of his GT switch