Having dropped from first to 3rd within the standings after two complicated weekends on the Red Bull Ring and Assen, the Abt Sportsline driver claimed pole space by practically half a 2nd in Germany to attach his championship converse lend a hand no longer astray.
Van der Linde become as soon as quickest in put together on Friday however sat 2nd within the lend a hand of the Winward Mercedes of Auer after the main runs in qualifying, trailing the Assen Stride 2 winner by 0.149s.
After returning to discover within the final minutes of the session, van der Linde unleashed the loyal tempo of his Audi R8 LMS GT3, posting a time of 1m36.649s to budge 0.483s sooner than Auer.
None of the final 19 drivers may per chance per chance well salvage end to van der Linde’s time or that of Auer’s after ending their final laps, securing the South African his first pole within the DTM since Nurburgring in August.
Van der Linde’s pole margin become as soon as the greatest considered in any qualifying to this level this year, and the three aspects he scored capability he now sits factual 13 aspects within the lend a hand of Lawson within the standings.
Red Bull junior Lawson qualified third within the lend a hand of Auer after enhancing to a 1m37.261s on his final flying lap within the AF Corse Ferrari, having sat seventh mid-manner by device of the session.
That time demoted the GruppeM Mercedes of Daniel Juncadella to the exterior of the 2nd row, forward of fellow AMG GT3s of Arjun Maini (GetSpeed), championship contender Maximilian Gotz and Vincent Abril (every HRT).
Final year’s runner up Nico Muller loved an improved showing in qualifying after a advanced heart segment of the season within the Group Rosberg Audi, securing eighth attach of residing on the grid with a time of 1m37.456s.
2022 Williams Formula 1 driver Alex Albon finished ninth-fastest within the opposite AF Corse-speed Ferrari, while Maximilian Buhk’s substitute Marvin Dienst (Mucke Motorsport) made it six autos from Mercedes’ salvage inner the prime 10.
Two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann continued a advanced qualifying session as he finished over a 2nd off the tempo in 13th. The Walkenhorst BMW driver within the intervening time sits 2nd within the standings between Lawson and van der Linde.
In other places, Lucas di Grassi qualified 18th on his debut within the DTM with a time of 1m38.355s, sandwiched between Abt Sportline teammates Mike Rockenfeller and Sophia Floersch.
