DTM Zandvoort - Qualifying

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Zandvoort, Netherlands, Jul 13, 2008

Jamie Green (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class), the winner of the Norisring race two weeks ago, was also the fastest C-Class driver in today�s qualifying for Sunday�s sixth round of the 2008 DTM in Zandvoort. Green qualified fourth with a time of 1m31.600 whilst Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class), the Norisring pole sitter, will line fifth on the grid with a 1m31.709. Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) was seventh fastest with a 1m31.815.

Bernd Schneider (Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) got stuck in traffic during his fastest lap in the second part of qualifying; he ended up 12th with a 1m32.808 and missed the final round. Ralf Schumacher came home 19th; however, a year ago his time of 1m33.980 would have been good for the second qualifying session.

Qualifying, part 1: Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) was third with a 1m32.467 and the best C-Class driver. Four Mercedes-Benz drivers missed the second part of qualifying: Mathias Lauda (Pixum AMG Mercedes C-Class) was 15th with a 1m33.644; Maro Engel (JungeSterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) ended up 17th with a 1m33.691 ahead of Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) with a 1m33.873 and Ralf Schumacher (Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class) with a 1m33.980.

Qualifying, part 2: Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) was sixth fastest with a 1m32.055. Bernd Schneider in 12th place with a 1m32.808 and Gary Paffett in 13th position with a 1m33.165 missed the fight for pole position.

Comments

Jamie Green (2008 Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) fourth (1:31.600): �I am not unhappy, I improved session by session. The second row on the grid is not a bad basis for tomorrow�s race. We found a good set-up and our race speed should be ok.�

Bruno Spengler (2008 Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) fifth (1:31.709): �Fifth on the grid is still ok. I made a small mistake under braking at turn seven and lost time. With the expected changeable weather conditions a good result should be possible tomorrow.�

Paul Di Resta (2008 AMG Mercedes C-Class) seventh (1:31.815): �The car ran well, therefore I am a bit disappointed that I was not able to end up further up the grid. Anyway, I want to score as many points as possible tomorrow.�

Bernd Schneider (2008 Genuine Parts AMG Mercedes C-Class) 12th (1:32.808): �The car felt great. Unfortunately, in a crucial moment in the second part of qualifying I got stuck in traffic and therefore missed the final round of qualifying. With my car a better result was possible today.�

Gary Paffett (2007 stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) 13th (1:33.165): �It�s ok to be the fastest driver with a 2007 C-Class; however, I wanted to qualify better than 13th.�

Mathias Lauda (2007 Pixum AMG Mercedes C-Class) 15th (1:33.644): �I am happy with my lap time, as it was almost two second faster than my best lap in this morning�s Free Practice. But on this winding track I will have to fight a lot to further improve tomorrow.�

Maro Engel (2007 JungeSterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) 17th (1:33.691): �The track conditions have changed compared to this morning�s Free Practice, and I was just not able to adjust myself completely.�

Susie Stoddart (2007 TV-Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) 18th (1:33.873): �I gave it my all, the team worked great and our car was good; unfortunately, it just didn�t work out. It�s a shame.�

Ralf Schumacher (2007 Trilux AMG Mercedes C-Class) 19th (1:33.980): �It just didn�t work out today. The lap times in the DTM are very close together, therefore one or two tenths of a second can mean several positions. Unfortunately, I didn�t manage to improve during qualifying. We will now analyse the data and see what we can do for tomorrow. At least, nobody will pass me at the start. With the right strategy I should be able to overtake a couple of cars.�

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: �With grid positions in rows two, three and four we do not compete with the best basis; anyway, I believe we will show a strong race.�


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