Ferdinand von Habsburg bagged a surprise maiden DTM pole position in qualifying for race two at Zolder, as the WRT driver pipped championship leader René Rast to the top time by just 0.069 seconds.
Habsburg had been second fastest half-way through the session, but the Austrian improved his qualifying lap by almost two tenths of a second in the closing seconds when he was the last driver to complete a flying lap.
The 23-year-old, who has been steadily improving over the course of 2020, had only yesterday secured his maiden podium finish in the DTM.
Rast, who assumed the lead of the championship on Saturday, just missed out on a second straight pole, but the German still managed to extend his points advantage by two more points.
Title contender Robin Frijns was third quickest, the Dutchman improving on his last lap, ahead of a season-best performance from WRT’s Fabio Scherer in fourth.
Nico Müller, who lost the points lead on Saturday, improved his own pace overnight and claimed fifth on the grid for race two.
Jonathan Aberdein was the best BMW driver in sixth, ahead of Audi’s Jamie Green in seventh.
The top ten was completed by BMW’s Philipp Eng in eighth, Audi’s mike Rockenfeller in ninth and the independent ART-run BMW of Robert Kubica in tenth.
Race two is scheduled to begin at 13:30 CEST (12:30 BST).
Qualifying results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 62 | Ferdinand VON HABSBURG |  |
Audi Sport Team WRT | Audi RS5 DTM | 12 | 1:18.879 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 33 | René RAST |  |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 12 | 1:18.948 | 0.069 |
| 3 | 4 | Robin FRIJNS |  |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 12 | 1:18.984 | 0.105 |
| 4 | 13 | Fabio SCHERER |  |
Audi Sport Team WRT | Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1:19.012 | 0.133 |
| 5 | 51 | Nico MÜLLER | |
Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline | Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1:19.035 | 0.156 |
| 6 | 27 | Jonathan ABERDEIN |  |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 12 | 1:19.063 | 0.184 |
| 7 | 53 | Jamie GREEN |  |
Audi Sport Team Rosberg | Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1:19.101 | 0.222 |
| 8 | 25 | Philipp ENG | |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 12 | 1:19.333 | 0.454 |
| 9 | 99 | Mike ROCKENFELLER | |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1:19.388 | 0.509 |
| 10 | 8 | Robert KUBICA |  |
BMW Team ART | Audi RS5 DTM | 12 | 1:19.412 | 0.533 |
| 11 | 31 | Sheldon VAN DER LINDE | |
BMW Team RBM | BMW M4 DTM | 11 | 1:19.462 | 0.583 |
| 12 | 10 | Harrison NEWEY | |
Audi Sport Team WRT | Audi RS5 DTM | 14 | 1:19.468 | 0.589 |
| 13 | 22 | Lucas AUER | |
BMW Team RMR | BMW M4 DTM | 12 | 1:19.488 | 0.609 |
| 14 | 16 | Timo GLOCK | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 11 | 1:19.540 | 0.661 |
| 15 | 11 | Marco WITTMANN | |
BMW Team RMG | BMW M4 DTM | 12 | 1:19.725 | 0.846 |
| 16 | 19 | Benoît TRÉLUYER |  |
Audi Sport Team Phoenix | Audi RS5 DTM | 13 | 1:20.201 | 1.322 |