Second pole of the season, new qualifying record: Pepper is unstoppable at Norisring

Jordan Pepper remains in a league of his own at the Norisring. The South African, who was the fastest man in free practice, again clocked the fastest lap with a time of 48.467 seconds in Saturday morning's qualifying session at the street circuit in Nuremberg. The Lamborghini driver from TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT also set a new qualifying record with his second pole of the season.

"I gave it everything on my flying laps. We were as motivated as can be as a team. I love the Norisring, with its walls and crash barriers. That makes the pole position all the more pleasing for me," said Pepper, who set the fastest time in start group A.

Nicki Thiim, at the wheel of a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2 for Abt Sportsline, was the fastest driver in Group B, stopping the clock at 48.566 seconds. The Dane will consequently start the seventh race of the DTM season from second place on the grid when it gets underway at 13:30.

"I always have a lot of fun at the Norisring! As a driver, you have to grit your teeth and be brave. My fastest lap was virtually perfect. I am looking forward to the race in front of the great backdrop here in Nuremberg," said the 36-year-old.

Lining up on the second row of the grid are Thierry Vermeulen from Emil Frey Racing in a Ferrari 296 GT3 and Porsche works driver Thomas Preining. Maro Engel from Mercedes-AMG Team Winward Racing starts the Saturday race from fifth place. Joining him on the third row is Aston Martin driver Nicolas Baert from the Comtoyou Racing team, backing up the Belgian team's strong performance in free practice.

Group A took to the 2.162-kilometre track at 09:15 on Saturday, with temperatures around 20 degrees Celsius. Pepper dominated from the word go, setting one fastest time after another, including the new qualifying record shortly before the end of the 20-minute session. Five minutes later, the twelve drivers in Group B began their race against the clock. However, Thiim could do no better than roughly 0.1 seconds slower than Pepper's blistering time.

Qualifying at the Norisring takes place in two groups, to allow for the size of the field. As the fastest driver overall in qualifying, Pepper will start Saturday's race from pole position. Thiim, as the first-placed driver from the other group, lines up alongside him in second place. The second-fastest racer from the pole-sitter's group, Vermeulen, starts from third place. Switching back to the other group, Preining joins him on the second row in fourth place. With the exception of the pole-sitter, the grid positions are not determined by the times set, but by the positions at the end of each qualifying session.

Results are HERE