DTM Nürburgring 2012: Qualifying - Second in championship Green on fourth row, championship leader Paffett on row six

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Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) starts Sunday’s sixth DTM race of the season at the Nürburgring (broadcast live at 13.45pm on ARD TV) from seventh position on the grid. Placed second in the championship, he posted a 1:24.312 minute in the individual time trial at the end of the session. Bruno Spengler (BMW / 1:24.284) is in pole position.

The Canadian driver Robert Wickens (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:24.423) achieved ninth position, the best qualifying result of his DTM career to date. Only a thousandth of a second separated him from eighth position. His best grid placing so far was 13th in the season opener in Hockenheim. The DTM rookie, together with Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé) and Spaniard Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé) is a member of the new Mercedes-Benz DTM junior team.

Championship leader Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:24.486) is in eleventh position on the grid in the DTM race at the Nürburgring.

Qualifying 1: Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé / 1:24.944) will be in 18th place on the grid for the sixth race of the season. Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:25.114), Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:25.275) and David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé / 1:25.297) will occupy positions 20 to 22 respectively.

Qualifying 2: Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO AMG Mercedes C-Coupé / 1:24.486) secured the eleventh-best time in Q2. Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupe / 1:24.705) will start from 15th on the grid.

Comments on qualifying:

Jamie Green (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Seventh (1:24.312):
„That was a hard day at the Nürburgring. We had, of course, hoped to do better than seventh place in today’s qualifying. I posted some good lap times in the third part of qualifying, but unfortunately it was not enough to progress even further to Q4. Now my team and I must focus on the race and hope that I get off to a good start and secure a decent result. All is not yet lost from P7.“

Robert Wickens (stern Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Ninth (1:24.423):
„Ninth place on the grid is my best ever qualifying result in the DTM, and I’ve progressed to Q3 for the first time. On my last lap unfortunately, I was a bit unlucky, otherwise I might have been able to achieve better results. But of course, I'm happy to be in the Top Ten for the first time in my DTM career in my debut race at the Nürburgring.“

Gary Paffett (THOMAS SABO Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), Eleventh (1:24.486):
„We had reckoned on doing better than eleventh on the grid. My car felt good and I didn’t make any major mistakes on my lap, which makes our result in the qualifying all the more puzzling. But still, nothing is lost yet; a decent points-scoring result is still possible, even from eleventh place on the grid.“

Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 15th (1:24.705):
„That was a tough qualifying for us. Unfortunately, I didn’t do better than P15. Our Mercedes AMG C-Coupé was very fast in the first half of the season in race trim and so we still have a good chance of success on Sunday.“

Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Coupé), 18th (1:24.944):
„Of course, I had thought that the start of my home race at the Nürburgring would be very different. We quickly realised in practice, though, that this would be a tough weekend. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to driving in front of my many fans and family tomorrow. I will do my utmost to push hard in the first race after the summer break and achieve a decent result.“

Roberto Merhi (Junge Sterne Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 20th (1:25.114):
„Unfortunately, my time today was not enough to take me through to Q2. That had nothing to do with my cold, I feel fine at the moment. However, I did have some problems with the accelerator pedal, which we'll have to look at before the race. On Sunday, I'll do my best to try and move up the field.“

Susie Wolff (TV Spielfilm Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 21st (1:25.275):
„That was not an ideal start to the second half of the season. I did better in practice and achieved faster lap times. Now in the run-up to the race, we’ll have to analyse the data and then I'll be on the offensive tomorrow and aim to move up the field by as many positions as possible.“

David Coulthard (DHL Paket Mercedes AMG C-Coupé), 22nd (1:25.297):
„I had planned on doing more during the first qualifying session of the season second half after securing a decent result in the last points-scoring race at the Norisring in Nuremberg. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage it today. Starting from P22 will make it difficult for me to go on improving in the race, but then races in the Eifel can be notoriously unpredictable.“

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport:
„Things can go like this – but you just have to deal with the situation, and we can. It's been already 10 years since the best-placed Mercedes was on the fourth row of the grid in a DTM race. We were third at the finish, so tomorrow is another day.“

* Official photo and details courtesy of Mercedes-AMG GmbH *

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