Joel to line up seventh for Sunday race

Joel took advantage of an overnight car balance improvement to take seventh on the grid for today’s DTM race at the Lausitzring, posting the third-best BMW time in qualifying.

Joel was one of just a handful of drivers, along with Saturday race winner Edoardo Mortara and Mike Rockenfeller, to post his quickest time on the second new-tyre run, having been held back in traffic during the first attempt when track conditions were more favourable due to lower temperatures.

Joel wound up 0.406s down on chart-topping BMW team-mate Philipp Eng, a documented Lausitzring expert who has been on-form all weekend and now clinched a career-first DTM pole.

Marco Wittmann was the second-quickest BMW driver in fourth, while Joel’s seventh place ensures he will line up right behind Mortara when the lights go out at 13.30 local time this afternoon.

“The car feels better today than yesterday, when we suffered from a lot of understeer,” says Joel. “We made some changes to the balance overnight and it seems to have helped. The lap was good, but the track was about three tenths quicker on the first runs when I was in traffic, so there is more potential. I’m looking forward to the race.”

Results – Qualifying 2