Dramatic Saturday qualifying at the Sachsenring: with 2:40 minutes remaining, Mercedes-AMG title contender Lucas Auer spun off the track at Turn 8 and hit the tyre barrier hard with the left front. Fortunately, Auer was able to get out uninjured, but qualifying had to be stopped.
At that point, apart from Landgraf Mercedes driver Tom Kalender and Seyffarth Audi guest starter Simon Connor Primm, nobody had set a fast lap. Race control then set the remaining time in qualifying at three minutes, which after the restart made for a hectic final phase in which, surprisingly, Schubert title contender Marco Wittmann took a BMW pole ahead of the new DTM leader Thomas Preining.
