Quotes after qualifying

Quotes after qualifying
Tom Kristensen, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (1st place): "This was exactly the result I needed. Of course things would be quieter for me in the race if the other Audi cars were further at the front. But my team always has a good strategy and the long-runs yesterday weren’t bad either. My goal is to repeat my 2004 victory. Despite the threat of rain we completely concentrated on a dry set-up in Qualifying. The team did a perfect job with the tyre pressures and consistently responded correctly as the track kept getting quicker. In the end, we clinched pole with a very narrow gap to the previous ‘Mister Pole Position,’ Jamie Green. My team and I are very happy about this."

Jamie Green, Salzgitter AMG-Mercedes (2nd place): "The start tomorrow will be crucial, because overtaking here is extremely difficult. Starting from the front row I will be in a good position for the first corner. My last three consecutive pole positions didn’t bring me luck; however, I hope it will work better tomorrow."

Bruno Spengler, DaimlerChrysler Bank AMG-Mercedes (3rd place): "I am happy about my third place. It would have been possible to be faster, but in the end I unfortunately didn’t manage a perfect lap with new tyres. Third on the grid is a good basis and I expect an exciting race."

Mika Häkkinen, AMG-Mercedes (4th place): "With my first set of tyres the balance was not perfect. However, our team did a great job and I was able to improve to fourth in the closing minutes. Tomorrow I want to make another step forward."

Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (5th place): "I’m pretty satisfied with my car. Compared with Friday, we made progress, both in Free Practice and Qualifying. Needless to say I would have preferred a position further at the front. We had the car to achieve this but, unfortunately, I got into a bit of traffic at the end."

Bernd Schneider, Vodafone AMG-Mercedes (6th place): "I was not happy with my first run, because my rear tyres didn’t have enough grip. Therefore I pitted for new tyres and unfortunately crossed the finish line one second too late and therefore was not able to improve. Tomorrow I will have a good speed."

Martin Tomczyk, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (7th place): "Looking at yesterday, we can be relatively satisfied with seventh place. But my goal for today had definitely been higher. In the final trial I would have liked to have been a bit quicker yet, but unfortunately I was slowed by another car."

Frank Stippler, Audi Sport Team Rosberg (8th place): "I’m absolutely elated about eighth place. Big compliments to my team for having achieved a very good balance of my car after the exchange of some parts towards the end of the Free Practice. After this feat of coming eighth a load has been taken off my chest."
Mattias Ekström, Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline (9th place): "Things started pretty well but in the end we simply weren’t quick enough. The car had just a little bit of understeer in the second session but still felt pretty good. So, subjectively, everything was running well but we just didn’t manage to clock better times. Of course things will be difficult, starting from position nine, but on Sunday there’s a long race awaiting us."

Christian Abt, Audi Sport Team Phoenix (10th place): "The Qualifying was okay even though I made a couple of slight mistakes. My last trial went well. Unfortunately, Heinz-Harald (Frentzen) returned to the pits in front of me a bit slowly. That cost me the crucial tenths, otherwise I‘d have been among the top eight. I wouldn’t have had fresh tyres for the final outing, though. That’s why better than eighth place wouldn’t have been possible anyway."

Alexandros Margaritis, Easy Rent AMG-Mercedes (11th place): "I missed the third part of qualifying by less than two tenths of a second, but I’m confident that we will be faster tomorrow and end up in the points."

Timo Scheider, Audi Sport Team Rosberg (12th place): "I was surprised that we were relatively far at the front straight away although I had lost a bit of time in Free Practice. That’s why we were no longer able to sort the front suspension. Before the Qualifying session we had made a change in the right direction but that wasn’t quite enough. It’s nice, though, that Frank claimed a place among the top eight - that shows the car can do it."

Pierre Kaffer, Audi Sport Team Phoenix (13th place): "The Qualifying is always very close in the DTM, and we’ve seen this today yet again. Everything simply has got to be a thousand percent right or it’s not enough. We’re giving our best and have come close, too. That bit of racing luck that’s still missing will follow, too, I’m sure ."

Jean Alesi, stern AMG-Mercedes (14th place): "Today I was just not fast enough. This can happen, but tomorrow I will push hard."

Daniel la Rosa, TrekStor AMG-Mercedes (15th place): "My first run was quite OK. When I was out again with new tyres Olivier Tielemans had an off just in front of me and came back on the track without looking back. I had to back off and lost time."

Stefan Mücke, TV-Spielfilm AMG-Mercedes (16th place): "This morning I was seventh and that was not bad. In qualifying I got stuck in traffic with my second set of tyres and was not able to improve."

Mathias Lauda, Second Hand AMG-Mercedes (17th place): "Unfortunately I missed the right gear during my fastest lap and lost time. However, being the best driver with a 2004 car I’m quite satisfied."

Susie Stoddart, AutoScout24 AMG-Mercedes (18th place): "I’m very disappointed. On my fastest lap I was blocked by Olivier Tielemans. Tomorrow I will give it my all to move up through the field."

Vanina Ickx, Futurecom TME (19th place): "Since the last race we’ve clearly improved. I’m able to concentrate better on the Qualifying and do a better job of getting everything on the dot to drive good lap times. Nevertheless I allowed myself a small mistake compared to the Free Practice. On Saturday things went a lot smoother, though, than on the previous weekends. Hopefully Sunday will be better yet."

Olivier Tielemans, Futurecom TME (20th place): "Unfortunately, the Qualifying did not go completely as planned. We should have been faster with the second set of new tyres. Unfortunately, towards the end the first rain drops started falling and my wheels locked when I was braking into the second corner, otherwise I would have finished a bit further towards the front."
Dr Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "That was a very thrilling Qualifying. Fortunately, we were able to break the knot in the end because Tom really drove a fantastic lap. We achieved our goal. We’ve got one car at the very front, four among the top eight and for the first time a 2005-spec car in the top eight. This makes us happy. As expected, the competition was very strong in Qualifying - but we’ve got a good base for race Sunday."

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: "Jamie Green, Bruno Spengler, Mika Häkkinen and Bernd Schneider qualified our four AMG-Mercedes C-Class cars among the top-six and showed a great team performance. Due to our weight handicap I hadn’t expected this result. Jamie missed his third pole position of the year by nine thousandths of a second. However, starting second he is in a good position for the first corner. Bernd Schneider crossed the finish line one second too late, otherwise he would have been able to improve. Congratulations to Audi and Tom Kristensen on pole. Again the new qualifying format provided an extra value for the spectators here at the circuit and the TV viewers at home."