Challenging Saturday qualifying for the DTM at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg because the track was initially a bit damp and drying out: In a session in which some drivers were on slicks and some on rain tires, the track suddenly sat down at the last moment Bernhard Porsche driver Laurin Heinrich finished in 1:36.778 and thus took his first DTM pole. He pushed Abt Audi driver Kelvin van der Linde out of first place, who was 0.065 seconds behind.
In second and third place are two other Porsche drivers: Heinrich’s teammate Ayhancan Güven and local hero Thomas Preining. This gives Preining, who is nine points behind leader Mirko Bortolotti in the championship, a good starting position for the race because the SSR Lamborghini driver couldn’t get past tenth place. In the end he was 0.345 seconds short.
There was a setback for third-placed Ricardo Feller in the championship, as the Abt Audi driver had to settle for 25th place. Things didn’t go as planned for fourth-placed Sheldon van der Linde in the BMW M4 GT3 either, finishing 17th.
Qualifying had to be stopped after eight minutes because Winward Mercedes driver David Schumacher lost his rear end on cold slicks on a wet patch of the track. As a result, he crashed violently into the tire stacks, causing severe damage to the front of the Mercedes. Schumacher was able to get out immediately and remained uninjured.