In what can be described as damp but drying track conditions at Nürburgring today saw Audi’s Andre Lotterer and Marcel Fassler take the pole position in the #7 Audi R18 with a combined average of 1m39.444s. Audi also took the number spot on the grid as the #8 car car driven by Jarvis and Di Grassi qualified just 0.266s behind #7 car despite a late session spin. As in the season opener at Silverstone, Audi, now in Germany, captured the front row again with its two hybrid sports cars.
“In spite of difficult conditions everything went perfectly today. Both driver teams were fast and used the right tactics,” said Audi Motorsport head Wolfgang Ullrich.
“I had no traffic and managed a sensational lap,” said Lotterer who achieved the second-fastest single time in the field. “Staying out for three laps was the right choice because we became faster and faster.” Marcel Fässler added: “We were instantly very fast today. A thank you goes to our new engineer Erik Schuivens. It’s a shame that our teammate Benoît Tréluyer can’t be with us today. We’re in close contact with him and he’s sharing the thrill with us.”
The #1 – reigning WEC championship car – a Porsche 919 Hybrid driven by Mark Webber and Timo Bernhard was third quickest. This was followed by Lieb and Jani in fourth in The #2 Porsche 919 Hybrid. Toyota TS 050 Hybrids will start fifth and sixth with #6 ahead of the #5 car.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
