After a fast-paced qualifying for the second Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters race at the Lausitzring this weekend, Mercedes-AMG DTM locked out the front row, with Lucas Auer stealing pole position in the dying seconds.
The Austrian led a Mücke Motorsport 1-2, setting a 1:16.861 around the 3.478-km track, just 0.070 seconds ahead of team mate Christian Vietoris.
Both drivers waited until the very last moment to beat Team RMG’s Timo Glock to pole, with Auer taking his first pole position since Nürburgring last year.
Glock, who won in Spielberg, will line up third, alongside Robert Wickens, who secured another podium finish yesterday afternoon.
Mike Rockenfeller was the best of the Audi drivers in fifth, ahead of Gary Paffett and Jamie Green, with the trio separated by just 0.016 seconds.
Points leader Marco Wittmann was in the running for pole position in the early goings, but the 2014 champion ended up eighth, with Mattias Ekström and Tom Blomqvist completing the top ten.
Maximilian Götz narrowly missed out on a top ten start for this afternoon, as the German was just 0.005 seconds off Blomqvist’s time, showing just how finite the gaps are in the DTM during qualifying.
Miguel Molina, who won yesterday’s race, starts from 14th, ahead of Nico Müller, as Paul Di Resta languished down in 21st place, with the Scot continuing to have a difficult weekend in Brandenburg.
Former champions Timo Scheider and Martin Tomczyk will start at the back row, with 2012 champion Bruno Spengler only managing 13th behind Maxime Martin.
The sixth race of the 2016 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season starts at 15:13 local time (14.13 British Summer Time,) lasting for 60 minutes plus one lap.
Session results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 22 | Lucas AUER |  |
BWT Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 11 | 1:16.861 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 8 | Christian VIETORIS |  |
BWT Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 10 | 1:16.931 | 0.070 |
| 3 | 16 | Timo GLOCK | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 8 | 1:16.943 | 0.082 |
| 4 | 6 | Robert WICKENS |  |
SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS Invest Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 10 | 1:17.000 | 0.139 |
| 5 | 99 | Mike ROCKENFELLER | |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 10 | 1:17.029 | 0.168 |
| 6 | 2 | Gary PAFFETT |  |
EURONICS/FREE MEN’S WORLD Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 9 | 1:17.030 | 0.169 |
| 7 | 53 | Jamie GREEN | |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 11 | 1:17.044 | 0.183 |
| 8 | 11 | Marco WITTMANN | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 8 | 1:17.061 | 0.200 |
| 9 | 5 | Mattias EKSTRÖM |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 10 | 1:17.076 | 0.215 |
| 10 | 31 | Tom BLOMQVIST | |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 10 | 1:17.142 | 0.281 |
| 11 | 84 | Maximilian GÖTZ | |
Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 10 | 1:17.147 | 0.286 |
| 12 | 36 | Maxime MARTIN |  |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 11 | 1:17.162 | 0.301 |
| 13 | 7 | Bruno SPENGLER | |
BMW Team MTEK | BMW M4 DTM | 9 | 1:17.167 | 0.306 |
| 14 | 17 | Miguel MOLINA |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt | Audi RS5 DTM | 11 | 1:17.184 | 0.323 |
| 15 | 51 | Nico MÜLLER |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt | Audi RS5 DTM | 12 | 1:17.211 | 0.350 |
| 16 | 34 | Esteban OCON |  |
EURONICS/FREE MEN’S WORLD Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 10 | 1:17.219 | 0.358 |
| 17 | 13 | António Félix da COSTA |  |
BMW Team Schnitzer | BMW M4 DTM | 11 | 1:17.399 | 0.538 |
| 18 | 12 | Daniel JUNCADELLA | |
SILBERPFEIL Energy/UBFS Invest Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 9 | 1:17.408 | 0.547 |
| 19 | 18 | Augusto FARFUS |  |
BMW Team MTEK | BMW M4 DTM | 11 | 1:17.482 | 0.621 |
| 20 | 27 | Adrien TAMBAY | |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 10 | 1:17.495 | 0.634 |
| 21 | 3 | Paul di RESTA | |
Mercedes-AMG | Mercedes-AMG C63 DTM | 9 | 1:17.510 | 0.649 |
| 22 | 48 | Edoardo MORTARA |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 12 | 1:17.515 | 0.654 |
| 23 | 10 | Timo SCHEIDER | |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 11 | 1:17.730 | 0.869 |
| 24 | 100 | Martin TOMCZYK | |
BMW Team Schnitzer | BMW M4 DTM | 10 | 1:18.003 | 1.142 |