Nürburgring – The battle for grid position reached a fever pitch on Sunday morning in the Eifel region. In a session decided by fractions of a second, Jules Gounon delivered an absolute masterclass during Qualifying 2 for the DTM weekend at the Nürburgring, storming to his first pole position of the season with a record-shattering lap.
Record-Breaking Pace in the Eifel
Behind the wheel of the iconic yellow-and-green “Mamba” Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo for Winward Racing, French veteran Jules Gounon delivered a phenomenal flying lap. Stopping the clocks at 1:25.062, Gounon eclipsed Mirko Bortolotti’s 2023 GT3 benchmark of 1:25.118. After a turbulent opening half of the season, the Frenchman found the ideal balance through the technical chicane and high-speed sectors to secure the top spot on the grid.
Young Talent and Front-Row Surprises
Sharing the front row with Gounon is 21-year-old German rising star Ben Dörr. The McLaren contender put together a flawless sector-by-sector effort, finishing just +0.113s short of pole. Right behind them on row two, Saturday’s race winner Matteo Cairoli carried his winning momentum forward, placing his Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 third overall (+0.140s).
BoP Adjustments Pay Off for Thiim
Lined up directly next to Cairoli is half-time championship leader Nicki Thiim (+0.158s). The Comtoyou Racing driver executed a vital turnaround following a difficult Saturday outing. Benefiting from overnight Balance of Performance revisions—which relieved his Aston Martin Vantage GT3 of 10 kilograms while adding boost pressure—Thiim immediately extracted the extra speed to vault into fourth.
Title Rivals Locked in Razor-Thin Battle
The heavyweights at the top of the standings remain tightly clustered directly behind the front-runners. Current championship pace-setter Maro Engel anchored his Winward Mercedes-AMG in fifth position (+0.187s), putting him in prime position to shield his points advantage.
Right on his rear bumper, two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann placed the Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 in sixth (+0.194s). Lucas Auer positioned his Landgraf Mercedes-AMG seventh (+0.201s), while reigning series champion Thomas Preining rounded out the top eight in his Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R (+0.209s).
Stage Set for an Intense Feature Race
With less than two-tenths of a second separating the top eight cars, single-lap margins could hardly be tighter. Tire management over the longer stints and precision through the tight opening hairpin will be critical factors when the lights go out for Sunday afternoon’s feature race.