Audi’s dominance in the DTM continued in qualifying for race one at Assen in The Netherlands, as Loïc Duval snatched pole position late in the session, ahead of local racer Robin Frijns.
The Frenchman beat his previous season best of third to claim a first pole of 2020, hitting the top of the times with just a minute left in the session with his lap of 1 minute 23.341 seconds, two tenths faster than any time this weekend.
Frijns, the season’s best qualifier so far, was second, just 0.034 seconds behind his fellow Audi driver.
Indeed, Audi once again proved to be the dominant manufacturer, as the Ingolstadt marque locked out the top six positions.
Championship leader Nico Müller was third fastest, one tenth from pole, ahead of the independent WRT-run Audi of Ferdinand von Habsburg in fourth.
Team Phenix’s mike Rockenfeller was fifth, having pipped reigning champion René Rast on his final run.
Rast made a mistake on his final flying lap, cutting the final chicane and subsequently losing his best time, leaving the German in sixth, three tenths off the pace.
Lucas Auer was the best of the BMW contingent in seventh, half a second from pole, with the Munich marque’s drivers completing the top ten.
Auer’s Austrian compatriot Philipp Eng was eighth, whilst South African Jonathan Aberdein and German Marco Wittmann completed the top ten.
It was a challenging session again for the Brits, with Jamie Green more than a second from pole in 12th, just ahead of DTM rookie Harrison Newey in 13th.
After showing promising pace in second practice on Friday, Saturday proved to be a challenge once again as Robert Kubica will start from the final row of the grid, the Pole’s time only being good enough for 15th, 1.389 seconds off the pace.
Race one is scheduled to get underway at 13:33 CEST (12:33 BST).
Qualifying results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 28 | Loïc DUVAL |  |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 9 | 1:23.341 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 4 | Robin FRIJNS |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 7 | 1:23.375 | 0.034 |
| 3 | 51 | Nico MÜLLER |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 9 | 1:23.459 | 0.118 |
| 4 | 62 | Ferdinand VON HABSBURG |  |
Audi Sport Team WRT | Audi RS5 DTM | 9 | 1:23.501 | 0.160 |
| 5 | 99 | Mike ROCKENFELLER |  |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 9 | 1:23.569 | 0.228 |
| 6 | 33 | René RAST | |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 9 | 1:23.668 | 0.327 |
| 7 | 22 | Lucas AUER | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 9 | 1:23.853 | 0.512 |
| 8 | 25 | Philipp ENG | |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 8 | 1:23.917 | 0.576 |
| 9 | 27 | Jonathan ABERDEIN |  |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 9 | 1:24.098 | 0.757 |
| 10 | 11 | Marco WITTMANN | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 9 | 1:24.139 | 0.798 |
| 11 | 31 | Sheldon VAN DER LINDE | |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 8 | 1:24.336 | 0.995 |
| 12 | 53 | Jamie GREEN |  |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 10 | 1:24.452 | 1.111 |
| 13 | 10 | Harrison NEWEY | |
Audi Sport Team WRT | Audi RS5 DTM | 9 | 1:24.539 | 1.198 |
| 14 | 16 | Timo GLOCK | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 8 | 1:24.718 | 1.377 |
| 15 | 8 | Robert KUBICA |  |
BMW Team ART | Audi RS5 DTM | 8 | 1:24.730 | 1.389 |
| 16 | 13 | Fabio SCHERER | |
Audi Sport Team WRT | Audi RS5 DTM | 10 | 1:24.762 | 1.421 |