Quotes after qualifying at the Nürburgring

Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “I’m satisfied with the three Audi cars in the top four. It probably would have been possible to take the pole position too, but unfortunately there was a small mistake made everywhere while Bruno Spengler drove a perfect lap. The result shows that the work during the past few weeks has paid off and that our work went in the right direction. I’m hoping for us to be able to convert this into a good race result tomorrow.”

Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi A5 DTM), grid position 2
“I’m happy because the result is fantastic. It’s the third time in six races that I made it into the top four. Things are going much better than last year. We did a good job on the set-up with the team. Unfortunately, in qualifying I didn’t have exactly the same feeling. But we’re on the front row. With a good start tomorrow, anything’s possible. Filipe (Albuquerque), Mike (Rockenfeller) and I will try and beat Bruno Spengler.”

Filipe Albuquerque (TV Movie Audi A5 DTM), grid position 3
“I’m very satisfied. Having made it into the top four in DTM qualifying is an incredibly good feeling because it was extremely close again today. In the third qualifying segment I drove a very good lap, but in the fourth session the tire pressure wasn’t optimal so I couldn’t attack Bruno Spengler. In any event, my third place on the grid will open up the opportunity to me of winning tomorrow. We’ll be giving everything for that.”

Mike Rockenfeller (Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM), grid position 4
“We were very pleased the whole weekend so far. Especially the long-run times were very promising. Today, the car was probably good enough for driving onto the front row but unfortunately I made a mistake in Q4. But that’s the way it goes in sport at times. I gave everything, my guys gave me a superb car and I’m confident that we’ll be able to win tomorrow.”

Timo Scheider (AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM), grid position 10
“Tenth place is definitely not a dream result. On the other hand, you’ve got to be satisfied when looking at my last qualifying sessions and after the summer break you can see that we analyzed everything correctly and are on the right track. On the fifth row, it’s easier to strategically tackle the race than in the past when we were even all the way at the rear on occasion. I’m looking forward to the race; it’ll no doubt be a heat battle. Considering all the people that were eliminated in Q2, today shows that it was definitely not so easy to get everything right on the dot.”

Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM), grid position 12
“My qualifying didn’t go smoothly. The result was not as desired. In the beginning, I had a problem on the brake. When that was resolved and I had an improvement opportunity on my last lap there was a yellow flag. In the beginning, we were too slow and in the end we were out of luck.”

Miguel Molina (Red Bull Audi A5 DTM), grid position 13
“We did a good job in free practice and were constantly in the top five. Q1 went well. In Q2, I set the same time and after that it was over for us. Now we’ve got to try and drive a good race.”

Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra A5 DTM), grid position 16
“A disappointing qualifying session because I didn’t make the best out of what would have been possible. We were a bit in a hurry and I wasn’t able to drive a second flying lap. On my first lap I had a yellow flag. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it into Q3. Now I’m hoping for a good race.”

Rahel Frey (E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM), grid position 17
“That was my best qualifying session so far. Actually, I should be pleased, but I’m not really yet. I’ve set high aims for the second half of the season; we’re in pretty good shape. I wanted to make it into Q2 but that didn’t work out by a very narrow margin. That’s why disappointment is still the predominant feeling. But we’re on the right track. I’ve got to continue to fight brutally hard – as brutally hard as the DTM is.”

Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): “Qualifying didn’t go according to our wishes. We weren’t able to convert it into a good result. The car is able to do it, as the results of Albuquerque, Rockenfeller and Mortara prove. But in our case it didn’t work. We’ve got to analyze this now. But that’s racing. Tomorrow’s the race and another day.”

Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): “A super-close qualifying session. In Q1, we were relatively sure. We were even able to save tires for the race. In Q2, we very narrowly advanced with ‘Rocky’, while Miguel (Molina) was lacking a few hundredths. In Q3, ‘Rocky’ drove a dream lap. Unfortunately, he had a locked wheel in Q4. That cost him half a second and you can’t make that up. We’re pleased nonetheless. You’re still in contention for victory from grid position four – and that’s our goal tomorrow.”

Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): “That was a nerve racking qualifying session. I’d almost have been happy with two cars in the top ten but now Edoardo (Mortara) and Filipe (Albuquerque) are on grid positions two and three. Consequently, I’m very, very happy. ‘Edo’ would have preferred being on pole but, unfortunately, that wasn’t quite possible. ‘Well done’ to both of them and a big ‘thank you’ to the whole team.”

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