HOCKENHEIM, GERMANY — Lamborghini works driver Luca Engstler delivered a masterclass in tricky wet conditions to claim his maiden DTM pole position during Saturday morning’s Qualifying 1 session at the Hockenheimring.
Navigating a thoroughly soaked 4.574 km circuit with air and track temperatures hovering around 12°C, the ABT Sportsline driver put together a stellar flying lap of 1:47.048 in his Lamborghini Temerario GT3 to outpace the rest of the field.
Title Contenders Experience Mixed Fortunes
As spray reduced visibility across the Motodrom, championship leader Thomas Preining capitalized on the slippery session to strengthen his grip on the title. Piloting the Manthey EMA Porsche 911 GT3 R, the Austrian secured 3rd place on the grid with a 1:47.507, directly out-qualifying his primary championship rivals.
Preining was sandwiched by Lucas Auer, who claimed 2nd place for Landgraf Motorsport in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, finishing 0.407 seconds shy of Engstler’s benchmark.
Meanwhile, title contender Maro Engel navigated the wet asphalt to secure 7th position in his WINWARD Racing Mercedes-AMG, keeping himself firmly in the fight. However, fellow title protagonist Marco Wittmann faced a tougher outing on the drenched track, managing 11th place in his Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. Preining’s strong third-place grid slot allows him to further extend his championship advantage heading into Saturday afternoon’s race.
Tight Battles Down the Order
Behind the leading trio, Ferrari’s Thierry Vermeulen put in a strong performance to take 4th for Emil Frey Racing, ahead of Ricardo Feller in the second Manthey Porsche. Grasser Racing’s Mirko Bortolotti rounded out a competitive top six in the wet conditions.
With damp weather continuing to loom over the circuit, the stage is set for a high-tension opening race of the DTM season finale.