Despite a Balance of Performance tweak handed down prior to qualifying, which left the Audi R8 LMS Evo II GT3 25kg heavier than it had been in Saturday's race, DTM rookie Feller surged to the top in the latter stages of the session after electing to stay in the pits early on.
Prior to the final runs, Lucas Auer (Winward Racing Mercedes) headed Feller's team-mate Kelvin van der Linde on a 1m40.185s, with both opting to set their times in the middle of the 20-minute session with a clear track.
However, the pair had returned to the pits as qualifying concluded and were unable to defend their positions as others improved.
Fraga was the first to make a notable step as he split Auer and van der Linde, before Feller pipped Auer by 0.039s.
Lamborghini also had an extra 25kg in weight added prior to qualifying, but Grasser Racing's Clemens Schmid nevertheless took his turn at the head of the field with a 1m40.066s, with race one winner Rene Rast (Abt Audi) slotting into second at this stage.
But reigning ADAC GT Masters champion Feller quickly responded and posted the first sub-1m40s lap with a 1m39.814s effort to surge back to the top spot.
His effort, which would stand to the end of the session, was 0.003s quicker than Rast's pole lap with 25kg less weight on Saturday.
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Two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann (Walkenhorst BMW) briefly moved into second position, but was shuffled back to third by a resurgent Fraga, who retired from race one due to power steering woes aboard a new chassis built up after his Lausitzring qualifying fire.
With his Mercedes 20kg lighter than in qualifying for Saturday's race, Gruppe M driver Maro Engel was another late improver in fourth, as Schmid's Lamborghini made it five different manufacturers in the top five positions.
Nick Cassidy in the second Red Bull Ferrari was just 0.253s down on Feller's pole lap in sixth spot, with Luca Stolz (HRT Mercedes) seventh ahead of Rast, whose car will be 50kg heavier for race two courtesy of an additional 25kg in success ballast.
Auer tumbled back to ninth ahead of Schmid's team-mate Mirko Bortolotti, with championship leader Sheldon van der Linde set to start 11th in the leading Schubert Motorsport BMW.
Kelvin van der Linde also slipped back and will start 14th at a track where he has won twice in GT World Challenge Europe.
Several drivers earned grid penalties for track limits transgressions in race one, with defending DTM champion Maxi Gotz and WWR Mercedes team-mate David Schumacher earning three-place drops to put them 21st and 27th respectively.
Marius Zug has a six-place penalty in his Attempto Audi, and will therefore start last.
DTM Imola Qualifying results:
| Cla | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Ricardo Feller | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'39.814 | |
| 2 |  Felipe Fraga | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 1'39.966 | 0.152 |
| 3 |  Marco Wittmann | BMW M4 GT3 | 1'40.026 | 0.212 |
| 4 | Maro Engel | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'40.059 | 0.245 |
| 5 |  Clemens Schmid | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 1'40.066 | 0.252 |
| 6 |  Nick Cassidy | Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020 | 1'40.067 | 0.253 |
| 7 | Luca Stolz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'40.121 | 0.307 |
| 8 | René Rast | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'40.136 | 0.322 |
| 9 | Lucas Auer | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'40.185 | 0.371 |
| 10 |  Mirko Bortolotti | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 1'40.214 | 0.400 |
| 11 |  Sheldon Van Der Linde | BMW M4 GT3 | 1'40.267 | 0.453 |
| 12 | Philipp Eng | BMW M4 GT3 | 1'40.319 | 0.505 |
| 13 | Nico Müller | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'40.330 | 0.516 |
| 14 | Kelvin van der Linde | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'40.341 | 0.527 |
| 15 |  Mikael Grenier | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'40.385 | 0.571 |
| 16 |  Dennis Olsen | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1'40.464 | 0.650 |
| 17 | Thomas Preining | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1'40.485 | 0.671 |
| 18 | Maximilian Götz | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'40.490 | 0.676 |
| 19 |  Laurens Vanthoor | Porsche 911 GT3 R | 1'40.520 | 0.706 |
| 20 | Timo Glock | BMW M4 GT3 | 1'40.645 | 0.831 |
| 21 |  Arjun Maini | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'40.686 | 0.872 |
| 22 |  Dev Gore | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'40.811 | 0.997 |
| 23 | Marius Zug | Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'40.833 | 1.019 |
| 24 | David Schumacher | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'40.927 | 1.113 |
| 25 | Esteban Muth | BMW M4 GT3 | 1'41.055 | 1.241 |
| 26 | Rolf Ineichen | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 1'41.182 | 1.368 |
| 27 | Maximilian Buhk | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'41.186 | 1.372 |
| 28 | Alessio Deledda | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | 1'42.064 | 2.250 |
| View full results | ||||
