DTM Nurburgring: Marco Wittmann pips Paul di Resta to race two pole

BMW driver Wittmann will start from first place for the first time in 2017, which he claimed with a lap of 1m20.936s.

As the session took place in the dry - vastly different conditions to the mixed-weather Saturday qualifying and race - the drivers needed at least two laps to warm up their tyres and only began to log representative times closer to the end of the opening runs.

As those concluded, BMW held a one-two on the timing screens, as Timo Glock recorded what was then the best lap of the weekend - a 1m21.226s - with Augusto Farfus 0.15-seconds behind.

That order held until only a minute was left on the clock, when Tom Blomqvist vaulted to the top spot - only to be immediately surpassed by fellow BMW driver Wittmann on a 1m21.070s.

At the chequered flag, di Resta looked as if he had snatched pole for Mercedes with a 1m21.052s effort, only for Wittmann to improve once more as he dipped into the 1m20s bracket and ensured first place on the grid.

Making up row two behind di Resta were two more Mercedes drivers, with Robert Wickens in third after improving from 14th after the opening runs, and Lucas Auer - winner of the Saturday race and the Sunday morning practice pacesetter - fourth.

Auer ended up 0.007s slower than Wickens and 0.007s faster than Blomqvist, who was followed by fellow BMW drivers Glock and Farfus in sixth and seventh.

Gary Paffett (Mercedes), Bruno Spengler (BMW) and Edoardo Mortara (Mercedes) rounded out the top 10.

It was another bruising showing for Audi, as the Ingolstadt marque is still saddled with the heaviest car on the grid and it managed no better than 11th, which came courtesy of Jamie Green.

Audi's points leader Mattias Ekstrom qualified 14th but will move up a spot as a five-place grid penalty for title rival Rene Rast - a result of getting his season's third warning for a clash with Maro Engel in the race on Saturday - will demote the German to 18th and last.

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