DTM polesitter Ralf Schumacher has admitted that he was only targeting a top 10 grid position heading into this afternoon's qualifying session at the Norisring.
The HWA-Mercedes driver took his maiden DTM pole position, despite running first in the four-driver pole shootout, and he said afterward that he was as surprised as everybody else when he secured top spot.
"We have been reasonably strong this weekend and I expected to be somewhere in the top 10," said Schumacher. "But I didn't expect pole position.
"When we made it into the top eight [Q3] my engineer was already pretty happy. Then in Q3 I got a few clean laps together and it just got me into Q4. My [Q4] lap didn't feel so great, but it seemed a little bit cleaner than the others."
The six-time grand prix winner remains realistic ahead of tomorrow's 82-lap race, where he is targeting a solid finish rather than expecting to follow up his maiden pole with a first victory.
"I want to enjoy this for the moment, but looking at tomorrow, I certainly hope to get a good race result out of this," he added. Anything can happen at the first corner, so I need a clean start. If I manage to be on the podium or high up in the points I will be happy."
Schumacher is yet to score any points in the DTM this season, and his best result in the series is the fifth place he took at Dijon last year.