Record-breaking Rast: BMW driver claims 26th DTM pole in Zandvoort

René Rast (Bregenz) produced a dominant display in qualifying for race two at Circuit Zandvoort. The BMW works driver was the fastest racer in the dunes on Friday afternoon, ending the session with a top time of 1:32.750 minutes and an advantage of almost 0.3 seconds.

Rast will now start from pole position for the 26th time when Sunday's race gets underway - a new DTM record. "We were already very competitive in the practice sessions, and then everything came together perfectly in qualifying. Pole position is confirmation of our good start to the season. The new Evo package makes the car even easier to drive and also simplifies the set-up configurations for us. Only when the team approached me celebrating did I realise that I had set a new pole record in the DTM," said the 'Prince of Poles'.Starting behind Rast will be last year's two winners in Zandvoort: Jack Aitken (GB) and Marco Wittmann (Fürth). The Brit, at the wheel of a Ferrari 296 GT3, was 0.275 seconds slower in second place. "I am super happy with my flying lap and second place on the grid. The two BMW are very fast on the straights. As such, we must come up with a good strategy for the race," said Aitken. When Wittmann starts his 200th DTM race on Sunday, he will do so from third place in the second Schubert Motorsport BMW. Frenchman Jules Gounon was the best-placed Mercedes-AMG driver in fourth. Thomas Preining (A) landed his Porsche 911 GT3 R on fifth place on the grid. Championship leader Lucas Auer (A) was eleventh in the Mercedes-AMG GT3.Shortly before the start of qualifying, it began to rain lightly. Despite this, the drivers still took to the 4.259-kilometre track on the Pirelli slicks. This proved to be the correct decision, as the anticipated rain did not materialise and the DTM drivers completed their race against the clock in dry conditions.

As is so often the case, the battle for pole position was decided in the final few minutes: Wittmann initially set the fastest time, before Aitken countered to move to the top of the timings sheet. Not long after that, Rast produced his top lap to secure his record-breaking pole position.

Results are HERE