DTM | 2026 Nürburgring | Qualifying 2 | Gounon sets Nürburgring qualifying record to claim DTM pole

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Jules Gounon delivered a record-breaking performance to secure pole position for the second DTM race at the Nürburgring, beating Ben Dörr and Saturday winner Matteo Cairoli in a tightly contested Qualifying 2.

The Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter driver set a 1:25.062 to establish a new DTM qualifying record around the Nürburgring sprint circuit. Gounon beat Dörr by 0.113 seconds, while Cairoli completed the top three just 0.140 seconds away from pole.

Fog greets drivers for Sunday qualifying

Conditions looked significantly different from Saturday as initial fog covered the Nürburgring and temperatures sat below 20°C for the Sunday morning session. Gounon entered Qualifying 2 looking to recover from a difficult opening day. The Frenchman had struggled for outright performance on Saturday, but his team identified an issue with the differential after the first race and addressed it ahead of Sunday morning.

The changes immediately transformed the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo and allowed Gounon to fight at the front. Christian Engelhart did not take part in the session after Grasser Racing withdrew his Lamborghini following damage sustained in Saturday’s race. His absence reduced the Qualifying 2 field to 20 cars.

Gounon sets new Nürburgring benchmark

As the decisive laps arrived, Gounon produced the fastest qualifying lap of the weekend and stopped the clock at 1:25.062. His effort also broke the previous DTM qualifying record around the Nürburgring sprint circuit. Mirko Bortolotti had held the benchmark since 2023 with a 1:25.118, meaning Gounon improved the record by 0.056 seconds.

The result handed Gounon his first pole position of the 2026 season and the second of his DTM career. It also earned him three championship points before Sunday’s race. Dörr came closest to denying the Mercedes driver. The Dörr Motorsport driver put his McLaren 720S GT3 Evo second with a lap just 0.113 seconds slower than Gounon’s record. It marked another strong Nürburgring qualifying performance for Dörr, who had taken his maiden DTM pole at the circuit in 2025.

Cairoli remains at the front after Saturday victory

Cairoli continued his strong Nürburgring weekend by securing third place for Emil Frey Racing. After taking pole and victory on Saturday of the DTM Nürburgring weekend, the Ferrari driver remained firmly among the leading group in Qualifying 2. His best lap finished just 0.140 seconds behind Gounon, earning him the final qualifying championship point.

Cairoli’s result also reduced his championship deficit to 36 points ahead of the second race. However, the Ferrari driver felt he had left further lap time available, particularly through the final sector and last corner.

Thiim fights back as championship contenders crowd the top ten

Nicki Thiim bounced back from a difficult Saturday to qualify fourth in the Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin. A Balance of Performance adjustment left the Aston Martin ten kilograms lighter and provided additional boost pressure for Sunday. Thiim took advantage to finish only 0.158 seconds behind pole, placing himself directly ahead of championship leader Maro Engel.

Engel secured fifth for Mercedes-AMG Team Ravenol, 0.187 seconds away from his Winward Racing stablemate’s benchmark. His car also benefited from Sunday’s BoP changes and entered the second race 40 kilograms lighter than it had been during Saturday’s contest, with the removal of both additional BoP weight and success ballast.

Marco Wittmann followed in sixth for Schubert Motorsport, just seven thousandths behind Engel. Lucas Auer qualified seventh for Mercedes-AMG Team Landgraf, with Thomas Preining placing his Manthey Porsche eighth. The championship contenders therefore remained closely grouped on the grid. Just 0.209 seconds separated Gounon from eighth-placed Preining.

Van der Linde and Maini complete the top ten

Kelvin van der Linde took ninth for Schubert Motorsport, finishing 0.240 seconds away from pole. Arjun Maini rounded out the top ten for HRT Ford Racing with a 0.376-second deficit. His team-mate Finn Wiebelhaus finished 15th, while both Ford drivers entered Sunday with a tyre advantage after completing limited running on Saturday. Tom Kalender narrowly missed the top ten in 11th, only one thousandth behind Maini, while Ricardo Feller placed 12th in the second Manthey Porsche.

Luca Engstler led Lamborghini’s Qualifying 2 effort in 13th ahead of Marco Mapelli. Wiebelhaus followed in 15th, with Mirko Bortolotti only 16th in the Grasser Lamborghini. Thierry Vermeulen, Bastian Buus, Timo Glock and Nicolas Baert completed the 20-car classification.

Despite Gounon’s record-breaking lap, the margins remained remarkably small. The first nine drivers finished within 0.240 seconds, while the entire 20-car field sat within 0.822 seconds of pole. Gounon therefore headed into Sunday’s second race from the best possible starting position, but with Dörr, Cairoli and a group of championship contenders all within striking distance after another fiercely competitive DTM qualifying session at the Nürburgring.