The Swiss driver posted a blistering lap in the closing minutes of a qualifying session on Saturday morning in which eight different brands booked the top nine positions on the grid. He is now ideally placed for the third race of the season which starts at 14:45 CEST. "It's a great feeling to have got my first pole in the ADAC GT Masters," said Niederhauser, who is currently sharing second place in the championship with partner Kelvin van der Linde. "Everyone in the team is totally delighted. We knew we were in a strong position, but I wasn't expecting it to be pole. The car was magnificent, and I got everything right on the lap. We took a gamble on the track improving towards the end of the session. Of course, that always involves a risk, but it paid off."

Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti looked to have pole sewn up for much of the session after clocking 1:30.764 minutes midway through the session. Ultimately, though, the Italian and his Orange1 by GRT Grasser team-mate Christian Engelhart had to settle for second place. 0.172 seconds behind in third place were Max Hofer and Christopher Mies of Montaplast by Land-Motorsport in another Audi R8 LMS. Sven Barth in the RWT Corvette secured fourth on the second row for himself and his partner David Jahn.

Luca Ludwig took fifth place in the Ferrari 488 GT3 fielded by HB Racing. "We are very satisfied," said the former champion, who shares the cockpit of the Italian sports car with Sebastian Asch. "We've had two difficult days with not much progress being made. We had a real struggle with the car. But then we changed everything, and that helped. I did two super laps where everything went well. We are mega happy with the position."

Championship leaders Robert Renauer and Thomas Preining in the Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by Precote Herberth Motorsport start from 14th place. The race will be broadcast live and in full length on the SPORT1 TV channel. It can also be watched online via the livestreams on sport1.de, adac.de/motorsport and youtube.com/adac.