DTM - Aitken secures his third pole of the season at the Norisring

“I actually only managed to pull off one top lap. As such, I am delighted with pole position. Qualifying is going really well for me this season. Having said that, to be quite honest, I did not expect such a good result, as we struggled with braking here at the Norisring last year,” said the Brit, who set the fastest time in Group B.

Joining him on the front row of the grid will be the Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Sheldon van der Linde, who was the fastest driver in Group A. “I was obviously hoping for pole position, but I also knew that the second group would probably be quicker. Still, it is great to be on the front row and I am sure that we still have room for improvement,” said the South African.

Lamborghini drivers Mirko Bortolotti from SSR Performance and Franck Perera from Lamborghini Team TGI by GRT start race seven of the DTM season from third and fourth place. Championship leader Kelvin van der Linde completes the top five in an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo2.

Group A headed out onto the 2.162-kilometre track at 09:00 on Saturday. Sheldon van der Linde clocked the fastest time shortly before the end of the 20-minute session. Five minutes later, Group B went in search of the perfect lap. With temperatures around 23 degrees, their times were a little faster than the first group. Aitken was the first driver to dip below the 49-second mark this weekend – a feat that Bortolotti also achieved as the session drew to a close. However, the Italian was 0.024 seconds slower than the driver from Great Britain.

Qualifying at the street circuit in Nuremberg takes place in two groups, based on times set in Free Practice. Aitken starts from pole position as the fastest driver from both groups in Saturday’s qualifying. Sheldon van der Linde took first place in the other group and will line up alongside Aitken in second place. Bortolotti, who set the second fastest time in the pole-sitter’s group, starts third, then it is back to the other group for fourth place. Apart from the pole-sitter, the starting order is not only determined by the times set, but also the positions in the qualifying sessions.

Results are HERE