DTM Qualifying Sachsenring 1: BMW Pole, Auer Crash causes chaos!

– Dramatic Saturday qualifying at the Sachsenring: Because 2:40 minutes before the end, Mercedes-AMG title contender Lucas Auer spun off the track in the eighth corner and hit the tire stacks hard with the left front. Fortunately, Auer was able to get out uninjured, but the qualifying had to be stopped.

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Until then, no one except Landgraf-Mercedes driver Tom Kalender and Seyffarth-Audi guest starter Simon Connor Primm had set a fast lap. The race control then set the remaining qualifying time to three minutes, which led to a hectic final phase after the restart, where surprisingly Schubert title contender Marco Wittmann secured a BMW pole ahead of the new DTM leader Thomas Preining (results).

But how did Auer experience the crash? “I turned in and then heard a strange noise – and then I went off,” he describes the accident in the fast right-hand corner to ran.de. There was no warning – and the car “even felt really good” before that, he says.

Mercedes-AMG finds cause of accident for Auer

The TV images show that the right rear tire already came loose in the gravel trap seconds before the impact. According to Mercedes-AMG, this was due to the wheel hub breaking on Auer’s car.

Auer’s best lap time was deleted because he caused a red flag – which means he has to start from the very back. Everything is now being done for Landgraf to repair the Mercedes-AMG GT3 in time for the Saturday race. Since the pit lane closes at 12:50, Auer, who is 25 points behind in the overall standings with four races to go, will probably start from the pits.

Wittmann completely surprised by pole position

The pole position was surprisingly secured by Schubert-BMW driver Wittmann with a 1:17.627 ahead of Manthey-Porsche favorite Preining, who was 0.126 seconds slower. The Austrian takes over the DTM lead with two points for second place – one point ahead of Winward-Mercedes driver Maro Engel.

“It’s a surprise for us,” Wittmann says at ran.de. Because the Sachsenring, where BMW has never yet achieved a podium in the DTM, “was never a good track. We were rather worried about coming here.”

The pole came as such a surprise to Wittmann that he asked his race engineer over the radio, “if he was kidding me.” Perhaps the chaos with the red flag “worked somewhat in his favor,” speculates the two-time champion – because he was the first to go out on track after the restart.

Preining hopes for little excitement after crashes last year

In the overall standings, Wittmann has now overtaken Auer and is fourth with a 23-point deficit. However, he carries 20 kilograms of success ballast from the Nürburgring win in the race. “That means: Somehow try to survive,” he says.

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Preining, who confirmed his strong form in testing and free practice with second place, was also very satisfied. “Of course, I would have liked to be at the very front, but I can’t complain – front row is great,” says the Manthey-Porsche driver at ran.de.

“Races at the Sachsenring are always exciting, even though overtaking is difficult. Therefore, I naturally hope that we can stay on the podium places and that it won’t be too exciting an afternoon.” The 2023 DTM champion knows what he’s talking about after two serious collisions last year.

Engel mourns after second round penalty

Third was Engel’s Winward-Mercedes teammate Jules Gounon (+0.289). Fourth place went to the second Schubert-BMW driver Kelvin van der Linde (+0.389). Fifth was Engel (+0.569), who, however, as the cause of the AMG collision with Auer at the Nürburgring, will be penalized three grid places and must start from eighth (starting grid).

“The lap was good so far,” the 41-year-old is satisfied with his performance at ran.de. “A bit of a shame that we couldn’t do a second lap. The cars in front of me slowed down a lot on the outlap, and that cost us a second lap in the end. Otherwise, maybe a bit more would have been possible.” But the car feels “good,” which gives hope for the race.

Next setback for Nicki Thiim

Fifth place goes to Emil-Frey-Ferrari driver Matteo Cairoli (+0.579), who, as sixth in the overall standings with a 34-point deficit, can still realistically hope for the title. Sixth is Auer’s teammate Kalender (+0.705).

Qualifying did not go as desired for Aston Martin title contender Nicki Thiim, who is third in the championship. The Dane was tenth with a 0.909-second deficit. Guest starter Primm reached 17th place in the Seyffarth-Audi with a 1.423-second deficit.

The Saturday race with only one mandatory stop will start as usual at 13:30 (all info on TV times, stream, etc.) – and the excitement is especially high considering the intensifying title fight.

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