Bathgate’s Paul di Resta will start from pole position for tomorrow’s third round of the DTM Championship at the Lausitzring in Germany. The 24-year-old Scot set the fastest time in the crucial four-car Q4 shoot-out to seal his first pole since Brands Hatch last year.
“I always knew we had the car for pole position, even after the difficulties we had yesterday,” stated Di Resta, who had been only 13th-fastest in Friday’s practice and whose last win followed his pole at Brands Hatch. “We knew once we worked on the car overnight, we’d be fast.
“Now we’re in the perfect position to push for the win. Obviously it’s crucial I lead into the first corner, then open a gap at the front. After that it’s a case of getting the two pitstops right, and hopefully we can notch the first win of the year.”
Di Resta, who flies to Montreal on Tuesday to prepare for next weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in his role of reserve driver with Force India, comfortably sailed through Qualifying 1 and 2 before edging into the top four shoot-out from Q3 by just 0.062s.
The Scot was then the first of the four cars to run in the session, setting a time of 1min 18.772secs. His Mercedes team-mate, Canadian Bruno Spengler, 0.035s slower, will start alongside him on the grid in second place.
And while the Audi of Mattias Ekstrom, and Merc of England’s Jamie Green line up third and fourth respectively on the grid, former F1 racer David Coulthard enjoyed his best qualifying session. The 13-time grands prix winner starts ninth in his 2008-spec Merc.
Di Resta, who holds the lap record of 1:18.938s at the 2.2-mile circuit, heads into today’s 52-lap race lying fourth in the championship, seven points adrift of leader Spengler, and only three behind third-placed Gary Paffett, both in identical Mercs to the Scot.
JM