Zolder DTM: Van der Linde scores maiden pole in red-flagged qualifying
Sheldon van der Linde took a first DTM pole position for the Zolder finale after a late red flag caused by R-Motorsport Aston Martin driver Paul di Resta.
The South African immediately followed up his best time by taking too much speed into the right-hand Turn 4, running into the gravel but maintaining enough momentum to rejoin the track.
The lull in activity while the field prepared for their second runs was sufficient time for van der Linde's car to be checked and cleared to continue.
But Di Resta soon reported that his "engine was running, but [there's] no power" at Turn 2 as he stopped with just under four minutes remaining and caused a red flag.
It meant a queue of cars at the end of pitlane for the final three minutes of running, with Rast a notable exception from the line.
The Audi driver opted against improving on his 1m21.596s lap as his early laps in the second stint before di Resta's stop convinced him the track conditions would not allow him to better his time.
Rast was proved right as he kept second on the grid ahead of race one winner Philipp Eng.
Audi's Robin Frijns was fourth ahead of BMW's Timo Glock, with the former Formula 1 driver one of the few to improve on his time in the final minutes of the session.
Mike Rockenfeller bounced back from his qualifying disaster yesterday, with a clutch specification change leaving him last on the grid for Saturday's race, to take sixth for the finale.
Marco Wittmann was seventh ahead of WRT Audi's Jonathan Aberdein, Jamie Green and Joel Eriksson.
Jake Dennis was 13th behind Loic Duval and Nico Muller to lead the R-Motorsport Aston Martin contingent.
Dani Juncadella, Ferdinand Habsburg and di Resta made up the rear of the field.
| Cla | Driver | Car | Laps | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 8 | 1'21.590 | |
| 2 |  René Rast | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 9 | 1'21.596 | 0.006 |
| 3 |  Philipp Eng | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 9 | 1'21.714 | 0.124 |
| 4 |  Robin Frijns | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 7 | 1'21.733 | 0.143 |
| 5 | Timo Glock | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 10 | 1'21.803 | 0.213 |
| 6 | Mike Rockenfeller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 9 | 1'22.133 | 0.543 |
| 7 | Marco Wittmann | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 10 | 1'22.142 | 0.552 |
| 8 | Jonathan Aberdein | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 9 | 1'22.246 | 0.656 |
| 9 |  Jamie Green | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 8 | 1'22.255 | 0.665 |
| 10 |  Joel Eriksson | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 10 | 1'22.291 | 0.701 |
| 11 |  Loic Duval | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 9 | 1'22.426 | 0.836 |
| 12 |  Nico Müller | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 11 | 1'22.433 | 0.843 |
| 13 | Jake Dennis | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 10 | 1'22.563 | 0.973 |
| 14 |  Pietro Fittipaldi | Audi RS 5 Turbo DTM | 11 | 1'22.582 | 0.992 |
| 15 |  Bruno Spengler | BMW M4 Turbo DTM | 9 | 1'22.613 | 1.023 |
| 16 |  Daniel Juncadella | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 11 | 1'23.103 | 1.513 |
| 17 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 10 | 1'23.703 | 2.113 |
| 18 | Paul di Resta | Aston Martin Vantage DTM | 6 | 1'24.088 | 2.498 |
| View full results | |||||
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About this article
| Series | DTM |
| Event | Zolder |
| Sub-event | Qualifying 2 |
| Drivers | Sheldon Van Der Linde |
| Teams | BMW Team RBM |
| Author | Tom Errington |
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