Pole for Mika H�kkinen in the new C-Class
- Bruno Spengler third, Jamie Green fifth
- Eight AMG Mercedes C-Class cars among the top 13
Mika H�kkinen at the wheel of the new AMG Mercedes C-Class will start Sunday�s second round of the 2007 DTM in Oschersleben from the top spot on the grid (1min22.456sec, fastest time of all practice sessions). On the occasion of AMG�s 40th anniversary, it was Mika�s second pole after Spa-Francorchamps almost two years ago, and the second for the race version of the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class. On the new car�s racing premiere at Hockenheim two weeks ago, Bruno Spengler (DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes C-Class) had been the fastest qualifier. In the third part of today�s qualifying, the Canadian posted a time of 1min22.625sec and is third on the grid. Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) qualified fifth with 1min22.791sec; Gary Paffett (Laureus AMG Mercedes) ended up eighth with 1min23.134sec at the wheel of the 2006 C-Class. In the second part of qualifying, Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up tenth after he was held up by another car and lost two tenths of a second.
Qualifying, part 1: Schneider was the fastest AMG Mercedes C-Class driver and posted the second best lap with 1min22.705sec, 96 thousandths of a second behind Timo Scheider (Audi A4 DTM). Daniel la Rosa (TrekStor AMG Mercedes C-Class) was 15th with 1min23.386sec and missed the second round by exactly one tenth of a second. Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) qualified 19th with a 1min23.897sec.
Qualifying, part 2: This time, Mika H�kkinen was the fastest Mercedes driver and ended up second with 1min22.639sec behind Scheider (1min22.551sec). Bruno Spengler came home third only eight thousandths of a second behind Mika. Bernd Schneider suffered from a tight power steering and qualified tenth with 1min22.909sec; he missed the last part of qualifying by 55 thousandths of a second. He was followed by Paul di Resta (JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class/1min23.152sec), Mathias Lauda (Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class/1min23.296sec) and Alexandros Margaritis (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class/1min23.338sec) in positions 11 to 13.
Mika H�kkinen (AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min22.456sec (Pole Position): �It�s great to be back on pole position here two years after Spa. The entire team had worked really hard throughout the winter to achieve this result. I thank everybody for their tireless efforts. Tomorrow I want to win, which would be a great reward for my team.� Bruno Spengler (DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min22.625sec (third): �After such a hard fought qualifying I am satisfied with third place on the grid, which is a good basis for tomorrow�s race, because at this track overtaking is really difficult. The first corner can be crucial for the outcome of the race; therefore a good grid position is even more important. Congratulations to Mika, he was unbeatable today.�
Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min22.791sec (fifth): �I am quite happy; however, as you could see the new AMG Mercedes C-Class had the potential for a better grid position. Unfortunately I made some small mistakes, which prevented a better result. Tomorrow I want to finish on the podium.�
Gary Paffett (Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min23.134sec (eighth): �Until the final lap I had a reasonable qualifying, but then I made a mistake under braking and lost a lot of time. Without this mistake I would probably have a better grid position.�
Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min22.909sec (10th): �In the second part of qualifying I suffered from a tight power steering and also got stuck in traffic, therefore I lost probably more than the half a tenth of a second which I needed to reach the top-eight. It�s a shame, because my time in the first session showed that I was capable of running at the front. With a good start tomorrow I should be able to improve significantly.�
Paul di Resta (JAWA4U.de AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min23.152sec (11th): �The car�s balance could have been better today. After my good DTM debut two weeks ago I had expected a better result.�
Mathias Lauda (Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min23.296sec (12th): �After finishing only 13th in Hockenheim�s race two weeks ago, I am happy with my 12th place on the grid, particularly after a not so good Free Practice this morning. However, my team prepared the car really well for qualifying and I want to thank them for their efforts.�
Alexandros Margaritis (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min23.338sec (13th): �Right now I don�t know yet why I couldn�t qualify better. We will analyse the data and improve the car until tomorrow. I want to fight for points.�
Daniel la Rosa (TrekStor AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min23.386sec (15th): �After finishing third in the season opener in Hockenheim two weeks ago, I am disappointed that my qualifying was over already after the first session. However, we didn�t manage to find the optimum set-up, but this is crucial when the field is so close together.�
Susie Stoddart (TV-Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class), 1min23.897sec (19th): �I am disappointed that I was not able to qualify better, but after my results in yesterday�s tests and this morning�s free practice, I had expected a result like this.�
Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: �An extremely thrilling qualifying. I am really happy for Mika H�kkinen who performed excellently on a track, which up to now has not been ideal for us. Congratulations on his pole. Bruno Spengler�s and Jamie Green�s grid positions three and five are a good basis for tomorrow�s race. With another five C-Class cars � a total of eight out of our ten cars � the HWA team headed by Gerhard Ungar and Hans-J�rgen Mattheis as well as the teams Persson and M�cke did a solid job. I thank everybody for their focussed efforts. It�s a pity for Bernd Schneider who got stuck in traffic on his fast lap and therefore missed the top-eight by 55 thousandths of a second. Mike Rockenfeller who qualified second in only his second DTM race with a last year�s Audi only 74 thousandths behind Mika deserves a great compliment. It will be an exciting race tomorrow � guaranteed.�