Matteo Cairoli says Emil Frey Racing’s return to the sharp end of the DTM field has provided a significant confidence boost after he secured third place in Qualifying 2 at the Nürburgring.
The Ferrari driver entered Sunday morning on the back of an impressive opening day in the Eifel. Cairoli had claimed pole position on Saturday before converting his strong starting position into victory in the opening race of the weekend.
He again emerged as one of the leading contenders during Sunday’s qualifying session, although Jules Gounon ultimately denied him a second consecutive pole. The Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter driver produced a 1:25.062 to set a new DTM qualifying record around the Nürburgring sprint circuit. Ben Dörr took second, 0.113s behind Gounon, while Cairoli finished just 0.140s away from the benchmark in third.
The margins throughout the field highlighted the competitive nature of the session. Only 0.158s separated the top four, while the first nine drivers all finished within 0.240s of Gounon. Cairoli nevertheless believed he had the opportunity to fight for another pole after showing strong pace throughout much of his decisive lap.
Cairoli pinpoints small mistake in final sector after narrowly missing pole
Speaking to Pit Debrief in the Mixed Media Zone following DTM Qualifying 2 at the Nürburgring, Cairoli expressed mixed feelings about securing third on the grid. While another top-three starting position continued his strong Nürburgring weekend, the Italian felt a small moment towards the end of his lap ultimately prevented him from challenging Gounon for the top spot.
“It feels good on one side, on the other a bit less because I think today could have been another opportunity to probably get another pole position but in the end the first and second sector were very good. The last one I missed that tiny bit and probably that was the cause why I didn’t manage to get the pole. I think it was a very tiny slide out of turn 11, so the last one and yeah that was it.”
With only fractions of a second separating the leading drivers, even Cairoli’s small slide carried a significant cost. Nevertheless, third place earned him the final championship point available from the qualifying session and ensured he would once again begin the race from a strong position.
His performance also demonstrated that Saturday’s pace had not been an isolated result. Cairoli and Emil Frey Racing remained firmly among the leading group when conditions changed on Sunday morning, with fog around the circuit and temperatures below 20°C providing a different challenge compared to the opening day.
Return to the front provides welcome confidence boost
The Nürburgring weekend marked an important turnaround for Cairoli after he and the team had endured more difficult outings during the previous two DTM race weekends. Pole position and victory on Saturday had already provided a clear indication of their improved competitiveness, and another place inside the top three on Sunday morning further reinforced that progress.
Asked by Pit Debrief whether the results at the Nürburgring had given him greater confidence both for Sunday’s race and the upcoming rounds, Cairoli emphasised the wider importance of returning to the front.
“Yeah of course, I mean especially after having been struggling quite a lot in the past two race weekends, I mean to finally see that we are quite competitive again, it’s a good boost for everybody, for me especially but also for the team.”
Cairoli therefore headed into the second race of the weekend with another opportunity to capitalise on Emil Frey Racing’s renewed competitiveness. Although he narrowly missed the chance to repeat Saturday’s pole position, his place on the second row kept him firmly in contention after a qualifying session in which the smallest of margins decided the order at the front.
