Jamie Green as the best Audi driver secured position three on the grid for the first of the two DTM races at Moscow Raceway. The Briton in the Hoffmann Group Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg missed the front row by just six thousandths of a second.
Following a wet free practice session in the morning, the 20-minute qualifying took place in sunshine on a dry track. “That’s why it was a bit of a journey into the unknown,” Green said after the thrilling time chase. “I didn’t drive a single lap on slicks this morning. My set-up wasn’t completely perfect yet for the dry track. I think my RS 5 DTM still has a lot more potential.”
Leader of the standings Mattias Ekström in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline in position six was the second-best Audi driver in the first qualifying session. On the first set of tires, the Swede was even in position three. “Unfortunately, I didn’t catch a clear lap in my second outing,” the Audi driver said. “More would have been possible.”
Six Audi drivers in total made it into the top twelve of the first qualifying session. The strong performance by Antonio Giovinazzi was remarkable. In his DTM debut, in the heaviest car in the field, he took 19th place, outperforming an amazing number of five competitors – including two former DTM Champions.
The first of the two races at Moscow Raceway will start at 16.33, local time (from approx. 15.20, CEST, live on ‘Das Erste’).
