DTM Hockenheim: Engstler gives Lamborghini Temerario first pole in Qualifying 1 as Preining leads title rivals

Luca Engstler has taken pole position for Race 1 of the DTM season finale at the Hockenheimring, the first DTM pole for the Lamborghini Temerario GT3. The #130 Red Bull Team ABT driver lapped a drying track in 1m47.048sec to beat Lucas Auer by 0.407sec, while championship leader Thomas Preining qualified third.

Drying track rewards late laps

The session started in the wet and Preining set the early pace in the #91 Manthey Porsche 911 GT3 R. As the track dried, teams switched to slicks and the quickest laps came right at the end. Engstler set his time as the chequered flag fell, which put him ahead of Auer in the #22 Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf Mercedes-AMG GT3. Preining ended up 0.052sec behind the Austrian.

Title contenders spread through the field

Preining starts as the best placed of the three main title contenders. Maro Engel qualified seventh in the #80 Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol Mercedes-AMG GT3, while Marco Wittmann was only 11th in the #11 Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. Preining leads the standings on 198 points, ahead of Engel on 174 and Wittmann on 173.

Auer, Matteo Cairoli and Nicki Thiim still have a theoretical chance of the title. Cairoli qualified 13th in the #14 Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 and Thiim 15th in the #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3.

Race 1 starts at 13:30 local time on Saturday.

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