Di Resta endures DTM miseryposted in DTM03 | 05 | 2014

THE CHALLENGE FACING Bathgate's Paul di Resta, on his return to the DTM Championship with Mercedes-Benz, was highlighted in today's opening qualifying period of the season at Hockenheim.

The 28-year-old former F1 racer, back in the championship he won for Mercedes in 2010, was one of five Mercedes drivers who miserably failed to make it into second qualifying session. His fastest time of 1min 33.639secs means he starts tomorrow 19th on the 23-car grid.

"Clearly we've got quite a bit of work to make the car competitive," a realistic Di Resta, who entered the opening weekend of the season aware his Mercedes trailed behind the performance levels of his Audi and BMW rivals, admitted.

"Obviously it's not the way you would want to start the new season, but we know there are a few wee bits we can tinker with overnight to help improve the performance levels.

"I think we're in for a tough race tomorrow, but who knows what might happen when we actually go racing? I've got to believe we can still score some important points in the race."

While the highest-placed of the seven Mercedes cars was England's Gary Paffett in 15th, Audi's Adrien Tambay scored his first pole for Audi.

The Frenchman's time of 1:32.272s eased him 0.147s ahead of a trio of BMWs led by German Marco Wittman.

Related: Di Resta returns to DTM action

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news by following us on twitter.com/scotcars

Jim McGill