Maro Engel enjoyed a perfect start to the 2026 DTM season by securing pole position in Saturday’s qualifying session at the Red Bull Ring. The Mercedes-AMG driver posted a best lap of 1:27.403, beating the previous qualifying record set in 2023 by more than two tenths of a second.
"A mega start to the new season! My radio was not working on the final few laps, so I only found out about the pole position when I got back to the pit lane. We want to put on a great show for the spectators in the race, and I would obviously like to start the season with a win", said Engel, winner of the Pirelli Pole Position Award and already with the first three points of the championship.
Mercedes once again confirmed the strong pace shown in free practice, but faced tough competition. Ben Dörr backed up McLaren’s impressive performance by placing his 720S GT3 Evo in second position, just 0.015 seconds behind Engel in one of the closest qualifying sessions in recent times.
The home crowd also had reason to celebrate, as Thomas Preining secured third place in his Porsche. "We made a few adjustments to the set-up overnight, but I was still not expecting such a great result. The car is running really well. We have a super starting position and I obviously want to be right up at the front in my home race", said the Austrian driver.
Just behind, Lucas Auer reinforced Mercedes-AMG’s strong showing by qualifying fourth, while newcomer Bastian Buus impressed by taking another Porsche 911 GT3 R to fifth place, highlighting the competitive balance between manufacturers.
The session took place under clear skies and temperatures around 10 degrees Celsius, with the final phase turning into a thrilling race against the clock. Preining was the first to break into the 1:27 range, followed by Buus, before Engel secured the top spot in the closing minutes. Dörr climbed to second on the final lap, with the top six all beating the previous record thanks to the new Pirelli tyres.
