Klaus Weber · DTM Correspondent
Bastian Buus secured pole position for the decisive second race at Hockenheimring with a margin of just 0.006 seconds over Ricardo Feller.
Bastian Buus (Land Motorsport) posted the fastest lap on Sunday in the second qualifying session of the DTM season finale at Hockenheimring, securing pole position for the season's final race. With a time of 1:36.923 minutes, he finished just 0.006 seconds ahead of Ricardo Feller in the second Manthey-EMA Porsche. For Buus, who had won the Sprint Cup standings of the GT World Challenge Europe a week prior, it marks his first DTM pole position. "To be honest, I didn't expect it," he said according to motorsport-total.com. Championship leader Thomas Preining, who headed into the finale with a 20-point advantage over Wittmann following Saturday's turbulent first race, qualified in seventh, while title rival Marco Wittmann managed only 16th on the grid.
Two-Tenths Separate the Top Group
The 0.006-second gap between Buus and Feller marks the tightest pole shootout of the weekend, significantly closer than Saturday's first qualifying, where Luca Engstler claimed pole with a 0.407-second margin over Lucas Auer. The field behind them stacked up tightly: Maro Engel took third place just 0.128 seconds slower, Jules Gounon fourth 0.139 seconds back, and Matteo Cairoli fifth 0.154 seconds off the pace. Five drivers stayed within two-tenths of a second, a level of competitiveness rarely seen in qualifying trim.
The lap times bear little comparison to Saturday: the first qualifying started on a wet track, with the pole time of 1:47.048 minutes only coming as the asphalt dried. Sunday brought the best lap back to the realm of dry practice conditions from Friday, with Preining setting the pace in that session at 1:36.974 minutes. Late in the second qualifying, rain set in and threw team strategies into disarray.
Preining Seventh, Wittmann Far Back
Preining clocked 1:37.229 minutes and lined up seventh on the grid, 0.306 seconds behind pole position. After a minor issue in warm-up, he said the result was something he could work with. For the championship leader, it represents neither a comfortable nor a poor starting point for the season's final race. More consequential is Marco Wittmann's position: with 1:37.749 minutes and a 16th-place starting spot, the standings' second-place man sits 0.826 seconds off the top, temporarily outside the points positions should the field not shuffle dramatically during the race. Wittmann himself called his team "without a chance," noting that Saturday's race had already shown a lack of pace.
Maro Engel, by contrast, who enters the finale as the third title contender, qualified his Mercedes-AMG from Winward Racing in third place, the second row of the grid, putting him well ahead of his two direct championship rivals. Third place also earned an additional point, cutting Engel's deficit to Preining to 21 points. "We're going all out," Engel said, adding that a win is now what's needed. Preining's 20-point cushion over Wittmann remains the mathematical starting point, but the Porsche driver himself launches from fourth row, seventh on the grid, two rows behind Engel. Should Engel deliver a strong result from third and Wittmann get held up in traffic, the title race could shift once more before the checkered flag falls.
Engstler's Absence Reshapes the Field
Only 20 cars instead of 21 appeared on the timing sheet in the second qualifying. Luca Engstler, who had claimed his first DTM pole position on Saturday, was no longer on the grid after his heavy crash in the first race. According to Abt team principal Thomas Biermaier, the contact with Lucas Auer broke the chassis, gearbox, and engine components, leaving the car unraceable. Abt Sportsline had to withdraw him from Sunday's finale; Engstler himself walked away unhurt. For the championship standings it makes no direct difference, but for the grid in the second race it does matter, as Saturday's pole-sitter, a potentially strong competitor, is now absent.
With Buus and Feller at the front, Preining in seventh and Wittmann far down the order, the starting setup for the season finale is clearly defined. How many points ultimately separate the title contenders will be decided only on track, once tire wear and pit window strategy play out their own dynamics during the race.
