Manthey EMA driver Preining topped the 20-minute session with a time of 1m21.347s, beating the similar Porsche 911 GT3 R of Toksport WRT driver Tim Heinemann by 0.055 seconds to pole in a somewhat anticlimactic end to qualifying.
It marked Preining’s first pole in DTM in 18 attempts, the Austrian having never started higher than second on the grid despite scoring two wins in his rookie campaign last year - including the very first for Porsche as a manufacturer.
Preining first moved to the top of the timesheets with three minutes to go when he set a time of 1m21.370s, which was identical to the lap with which SSR Lamborghini racer Franck Perera claimed pole on Saturday.
This benchmark would have proven good enough for pole, but the 24-year-old managed to lower that further on his next attempt, making a small but significant 0.053s improvement to seal the top spot on the grid for Sunday's second race of the season.
Almost all drivers had completed their final flying laps before the clock hit zero, a major departure from the usual pattern of drivers leaving it as late as possible to set their quickest times in order to take advantage of track evolution.
This meant Preining was already back in the pitlane when he was told over radio that he had secured pole.
Race one runner-up Heinemann took second on the grid to follow up on his impressive series debut on Saturday, while Clemens Schmid was a surprise third in the Grasser Racing Lamborghini and just 0.089s off pole.
Factory Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti was not far behind in fourth in the top SSR Huracan GT3, while Dennis Olsen was a tenth adrift in the second of the two Manthey EMA Porsches.
Ayhancan Guven qualified a strong sixth for Team Bernhard Porsche, while works driver Christian Engelhart jumped to seventh late on in his Toksport WRT Porsche with a 1m21.651s.
Mercedes enjoyed a far better showing after a nightmare start to the season on Saturday, with Landgraf driver Maro Engel qualifying just 0.318s off the pace in eighth ahead of team-mate Jusuf Owega and fellow AMG racer Lucas Auer (Winward).
Three-time DTM champion Rene Rast was once again BMW’s best qualifier, putting his Schubert Motorsport M4 GT3 11th on the grid with a time that was just 0.339s off Preining’s pole lap.
The two Abt Sportline Audis qualified 13th and 14th behind debutant Mick Wishofer’s Grasser Lamborghini, with Ricardo Feller edging out team-mate Kelvin van der Linde by just under a tenth of a second.
Reigning champion Sheldon van der Linde’s woes continued as he finished a distant 15th in his Schubert BMW, 0.518s off the best lap in qualifying.
Ferrari drivers also endured a troubled qualifying session, with Jack Aitken only 17th for Emil Frey after qualifying on the front row and finishing on the podium in Saturday’s opener won by Perera.
The Frenchman also struggled, en route to 18th in qualifying.
DTM Oschersleben Qualifying results:
| Cla | Driver | Car | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
 Thomas Preining |
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | 1'21.347 | |
| 2 | Tim Heinemann | Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | 1'21.402 | 0.055 |
| 3 |
Clemens Schmid |
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | 1'21.436 | 0.089 |
| 4 |
 Mirko Bortolotti |
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | 1'21.450 | 0.103 |
| 5 |
 Dennis Olsen |
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | 1'21.573 | 0.226 |
| 6 |
 Ayhancan Güven |
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | 1'21.581 | 0.234 |
| 7 |
 Christian Engelhart |
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | 1'21.651 | 0.304 |
| 8 |
Maro Engel |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'21.665 | 0.318 |
| 9 | Jusuf Owega | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'21.670 | 0.323 |
| 10 |
Lucas Auer |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'21.673 | 0.326 |
| 11 |
René Rast |
BMW M4 GT3 | 1'21.686 | 0.339 |
| 12 |
Mick Wishofer |
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | 1'21.696 | 0.349 |
| 13 |
 Ricardo Feller |
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'21.698 | 0.351 |
| 14 |
 Kelvin van der Linde |
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'21.786 | 0.439 |
| 15 |
Sheldon Van Der Linde |
BMW M4 GT3 | 1'21.865 | 0.518 |
| 16 |
David Schumacher |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'21.868 | 0.521 |
| 17 |
 Jack Aitken |
Ferrari 296 GT3 | 1'21.924 | 0.577 |
| 18 | Frank Perera | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | 1'21.925 | 0.578 |
| 19 | Thierry Vermeulen | Ferrari 296 GT3 | 1'21.959 | 0.612 |
| 20 |
Patric Niederhauser |
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'22.040 | 0.693 |
| 21 |
Laurin Heinrich |
Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) | 1'22.049 | 0.702 |
| 22 |
Marco Wittmann |
BMW M4 GT3 | 1'22.057 | 0.710 |
| 23 |
Luca Stolz |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'22.180 | 0.833 |
| 24 |
 Arjun Maini |
Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | 1'22.203 | 0.856 |
| 25 |
Luca Engstler |
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'22.264 | 0.917 |
| 26 |
Mattia Drudi |
Audi R8 LMS Evo II | 1'22.295 | 0.948 |
| 27 |
Alessio Deledda |
Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo 2 | 1'23.021 | 1.674 |
| View full results | ||||
