Maini claims his first DTM pole position in the Austrian mountains

Arjun Maini secured the first pole position of his DTM career in a spectacular qualifying at the Red Bull Ring in Austria. After many changes at the top of the timings sheet, it was the Mercedes-AMG driver who held his nerve in Saturday morning’s session and clocked the fastest time of 1:30.128 minutes on his final lap. The Indian will now start race 13 of this season’s DTM from the front of the grid for the first time.

“That was really crazy, because my radio was not working so I did not know the result at first. I tried to see the times on the screens around the track. However, they were too far away. Pole position feels incredible. I can enjoy the moment for a few hours, until the race starts,” said Maini after his fine display in Spielberg.

Maximilian Paul also produced a strong performance in a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 and was rewarded with second place. Maro Engel was third in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 and, coming into the event in third place overall, remains a contender for the title. The same goes for the man currently second in the table, Mirko Bortolotti from SSR Performance, who ended qualifying in fourth place. Behind him, Luca Stolz guided a third Mercedes-AMG GT3 into the top five. In contrast, championship leader Kelvin van der Linde from Abt Sportsline was unable to find his rhythm and had to settle for 18th place.

Temperatures of ten degrees and a track that was still damp in places greeted the drivers for the first qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring. Many drivers initially took to the 4.318-kilometre circuit on wet-weather tyres, before then switching to the Pirelli slicks. Kelvin van der Linde led for much of the session, but the field raised the pace significantly in the final five minutes.

The lead seemingly changed hands every second, with the Mercedes-AMG drivers always there or thereabouts. Shortly before the end, Lamborghini racer Paul moved to the top of the timings sheet and looked set to secure pole, before Maini posted the fastest time on his final lap.

Results are HERE