Ferrari is unstoppable in qualifying for the DTM: Jack Aitken from Team Emil Frey Racing drove the fastest lap in the first qualifying session at the Nürburgring on Saturday morning with a time of 1:25.155 minutes, securing pole position for the second time this season. Teammate Thierry Vermeulen finished second, 0.044 seconds behind. This means that the Ferrari duo will start from the front row, just as they did at the Norisring.

"I'm over the moon! The team set up my car perfectly for the track. In recent years, I've often been close to the podium at the Nürburgring, but it's never quite been enough. That makes pole position all the sweeter for me. I love this place; the atmosphere at the Nürburgring is always fantastic," said the Briton, who scored three points for pole position for the second time this season and climbed to second place in the standings.

Vermeulen also praised the Emil Frey Racing team: "After the Norisring, to be on the front row with two cars at the Nürburgring is the result of an outstanding team performance. With such a close margin, you're naturally a little annoyed that it wasn't enough for pole position. But there's always a second qualifying session on Sunday." Luca Engstler (TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT) took third place in the Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo2. Alongside him, Ben Green will start the ninth race of the season in fourth place in the third Ferrari from Emil Frey Racing. Championship leader Lucas Auer (Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf) steered his Mercedes-AMG GT3 into fifth place.

With temperatures of 18 degrees Celsius, it took more than ten minutes in Saturday morning's qualifying session for the 24 drivers' Pirelli tires to reach the optimum temperature range. After that, the lead changed hands every second. Auer initially took the lead, but was soon overtaken by Engstler. With just under a minute and a half to go, Aitken set the fastest time on the 3.629-kilometer track before Vermeulen moved up to second place on his final lap. The gaps in the first qualifying session at the Nürburgring were extremely close, with the top five separated by just 0.121 seconds.

Qualifying results, 9th race of the season, Nürburgring
Jack Aitken (GB/Emil Frey Racing), 1:25.155 minutes
Thierry Vermeulen (NL/Emil Frey Racing), +0.046 seconds
Luca Engstler (D/TGI Team Lamborghini by GRT), +0.057 seconds
Ben Green (GB/Emil Frey Racing), +0.116 seconds
Lucas Auer (A/Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf), +0.121 seconds

The full results are available here.