Red Bull Ring – Qualifying 1: Maro Engel takes first pole, Jules Gounon 6th

As expected, the pole position for the first race of the 2026 season was decided in the final moments of qualifying. DTMWhile holding first place, Maro Engel had to constantly monitor the giant screens at the Austrian circuit to see if the surprising Ben Dorr would be able to snatch pole position from him. As the checkered flag waved, the 21-year-old driver truly believed he could secure his second DTM pole position at the wheel of his McLaren 720S GT3 Evo. But a sigh of relief could be heard from inside the cabin of the Mercedes Benz-AMG GT3 Evo of Maro Engel, who ultimately stayed ahead by 0.015 s.

So it's an all-German front row that will kick off the first race of the season, with the experienced Maro Engel, 3rd in the last championship, ahead of the surprise Ben Dörr. On the second row, we find DTM regulars, the Austrians Thomas Preining (Porsche), champion in 2023, and Lucas Auer (Mercedes), outgoing runner-up.

They finished ahead of rookie Bastian Buus, a surprising 5th in the Land-Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R. The 22-year-old Dane will join Frenchman Jules Gounon, who qualified 6th, on the third row. The Mercedes driver can be optimistic about his podium chances, having finished on the podium twice last year (3rd and 2nd in the two races). Red Bull Ring).

Slight disappointment, however, for Marco Wittmann (BMW), only 15th on the grid, and for Mirko Bortolotti (Lamborghini), a discreet 17th. For his return to DTM after a year's absence, Kelvin van der Linde (BMW), 2024 runner-up, had to settle for the 11th fastest time.

The first race of the weekend will be on Saturday, April 25th, starting at 13:30 PM.

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DTM – Red Bull Ring 
The ranking of Qualifications 1