In a tense qualifying session, with the lead repeatedly changing hands during the closing minutes as the track dried, Götz driving a Mercedes-AMG entered by Mann-Filter HTP topped the timesheets. The lap time of 1:41.590 minutes set by the 2012 champion was 0.276 seconds faster than that of Florian Spengler and Dries Vanthoor in the EFP by ECE Audi R8 LMS.

"It was great fun driving in these conditions," said Götz. He and partner Markus Pommer are currently in third place, ten points behind the leaders. 25 points are available to the winners of the final race, live coverage of which begins at 13:00 CEST on SPORT1. "The car was great. We took a bit of a gamble by going out late, but it paid off. I crossed the line just before the end of the session and did two purple sectors on my final lap. That was also our objective - to delay until near the end and then to deliver the coup de grace. When you go for that strategy, of course, everything has to be just perfect. The starting position is very, very good for us. We are in the front row on P1 while our main opponents are a bit further back. That's good for us. The car is running well in the rain, in the dry and in mixed conditions - in fact, we've been in optimum shape all weekend. That's why I'm not worried going into the race; I'm actually looking forward to it."

Qualifying in third place were the Lamborghini pairing of Rolf Ineichen and Christian Engelhart (GRT Grasser Racing Team) ahead of the best of the Audis driven by Sheldon and Kelvin van der Linde (Montaplast by Land-Motorsport) who are also still in with a chance of taking the title if they can close a 16-point gap. Completing the Top Five were Mikkel Jensen and Timo Scheider (BMW Team Schnitzer) in the best of the BMW M6 GT3s.

Championship leaders Robert Renauer and Mathieu Jaminet in a Porsche 911 GT3 R are meanwhile back in tenth position. "It could have been better, but it could also have been worse," said Jaminet. "My lap was fine, but it was not easy out there today. I concentrated on keeping to the racing line and on pushing. The field has bunched up tight together again. We had bad timing on our fast lap towards the end. I don't really care how the weather turns out. That's irrelevant, because we have to push and give it everything we've got. Then we'll see what comes out of it. There is still everything to play for."

The title contenders with the least promising grid position are Saturday's winners Marvin Kirchhöfer and Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition) who are currently running second: they were unable to place their Corvette C7 GT3 R any higher than 27th.