| Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start Sunday’s 11th and final round of the 2010 DTM at Shanghai, China from pole position whilst Gary Paffett (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) will start the race second on the grid.
Thus, the second and third ranked drivers overall will share the front row for the final race. Championship leader Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class),however, will start 17th after he had an accident in the first part of qualifying. Jamie Green (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) took third place. In the single-lap qualifying, he also hit the wall and caused another red flag. Therefore, the result of Q3 determined the grid position. Paul Di Resta posted a time of 58.937sec and took his sixth DTM career pole position, his fourth of the year. For Mercedes-Benz, it is the 105th pole position in 331 DTM races since 1988. Qualifying, part 1: After eight minutes, the qualifying was red-flagged after Bruno Spengler had hit the wall. He made it back to the pits. Fastest C-Class driver at this moment was Ralf Schumacher with 1m00.022 in second place. According to the rules, all drivers started in Q2. Qualifying, part 2: Again a red flag; this time, due to an accident of Darryl O’Young (Audi). Fastest C-Class driver at this point was Paul Di Resta with a 59.455sec in third place. The red flag meant that all drivers – with the exception of O’Young – were allowed to start in Q3. This included Bruno Spengler after the HWA mechanics had changed his broken front right suspension and undertray in record time. Moreover, they put Ralf Schumacher’s Laureus reserve bonnet. Qualifying, part 3: David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) took sixth place with a 59.322sec, his best ever DTM grid position. Ralf Schumacher (Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home 11th with a 59.678sec ahead of Susie Stoddart (TV Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class). After an interim best lap time , she hit the wall and ended up 12th with a 59.750sec. Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) finished 16th with a 1m00.114 after his team had repaired his C-Class following an accident on Friday. CongFu Cheng (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) came home 16th with a 1m00.381 and Bruno Spengler was 17th (1m01.010). 
Paul Di Resta (AMG Mercedes C-Class) pole position (58.937sec): “This morning, I was fastest in free practice; this afternoon I took pole position – a great result. Now I have the best chance to win the race and the title. However, qualifying showed that a lot of things can happen on this track.” Gary Paffett (Salzgitter AMG Mercedes C-Class) second (59.045sec): “I thank my team; my C-Class was top class again today. Pole was possible, but also from second on the grid everything will be possible tomorrow. I want to win and keep my championship hopes alive.” Jamie Green (Junge Sterne AMG Mercedes C-Class) third (59.218sec): “I am happy that I made it to the single-lap qualifying. Unfortunately, the track offered not much grip and so I hit the tyre barrier. But third on the grid is a good basis for Sunday’s race.” David Coulthard (Deutsche Post AMG Mercedes C-Class) sixth (59.322sec): “What a crazy qualifying. On a street circuit, it is even more important to find a clear lap to be fast and I managed it. Sixth place is a great result for me and tomorrow I want to score my first DTM points.” Ralf Schumacher (Laureus AMG Mercedes C-Class) 11th (59.6778sec): “The track is a real challenge and very demanding for the drivers. Particularly the white lines are very slippery and I am not surprised about what happened.” Susie Stoddart (TV-Spielfilm AMG Mercedes C-Class) 12th (59.750sec): “My car ran very well and I gave it my all. It’s a shame, that I hit the wall, but 12th place is OK for me.” Maro Engel (GQ AMG Mercedes C-Class) 15th (1m00.114): “Every time I tried to set a fast lap I got stuck in traffic. When I tried to open a gap ahead of me, my tyres cooled down. It’s a shame – I wanted to qualify in the top six. I thank my mechanics who repaired my severely damaged car after yesterday’s accident.”
CongFu Cheng (stern AMG Mercedes C-Class) 17th (1m00.381): “My car’s balance was not perfect and we have to work hard until tomorrow. I hope for a good result in my home race.” Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG C-Class) 17th (1m01.010): “I tried to brake a little later than in practice, but then I was just a little bit too late. This was clearly my mistake and I apologize to my team, because my guys had a lot of work this weekend. They made it possible that I could do a few laps in Q3; however, after the quick repairs the steering didn’t work correctly so I was not able to move up.” Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “The circuit in Shanghai is a big challenge for drivers and cars – which has been demonstrated today by many wall contacts and interruptions. Paul Di Resta, Gary Paffett and Jamie Green were the best to manage this task and will therefore start from first to third places on the grid. It’s a shame for Bruno who hit the wall and has to start 17th tomorrow.” | 
