Nicki Thiim underlined his love affair with the Norisring by smashing the qualifying lap record to secure pole position for Saturday’s DTM race.
The Aston Martin driver, whose only DTM victory came at the Nuremberg street circuit, delivered a stunning 48.449-second lap in the second qualifying group to earn his second pole position of the season. In doing so, the Dane eclipsed the previous qualifying record and edged out Maro Engel, who had briefly held the benchmark after topping the opening session.
With the Norisring’s 2.162-kilometre layout producing one of the closest qualifying sessions of the year, every fraction of a second proved crucial. Engel had looked set to start from pole after recording a 48.463-second lap for Mercedes-AMG in the first group, improving on last year’s record during a 20-lap stint around the unforgiving street circuit.
However, Thiim found even more pace when the second group took to the track. After steadily closing on Engel’s benchmark throughout the session, he produced the decisive lap with less than three minutes remaining to secure top spot on the timesheets.
“I love driving at the Norisring,” said Thiim. “I touched the walls a few times, but that’s part of racing here and it gives you an extra kick. The field is incredibly closely matched, so everything has to come together perfectly and you have to drive right on the limit.”
Because qualifying is split into two groups at the Norisring to accommodate the tight confines of the circuit, Thiim’s outright fastest time places him on pole position, with Engel lining up alongside on the front row.
Behind them, Arjun Maini continued Ford’s impressive form by qualifying third in the Mustang GT3, while Lucas Auer ensured a second Mercedes-AMG GT3 will start from the second row. Jules Gounon completed a strong showing for the Affalterbach manufacturer by taking fifth.
The alternating grid format means Maini and Auer share the second row despite setting their times in separate qualifying groups, with Gounon lining up fifth for the seventh race of the DTM campaign.
Having already tasted victory at the Norisring, Thiim will now look to convert record-breaking one-lap pace into another triumph at one of the championship’s most demanding venues.
Race one gets underway on Saturday at 13:30 CET.
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