Norbert Michelisz has grabbed his first pole position in over a year for the BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse team, leading teammate Mikel Azcona in a close qualifying, while there was even more cause for celebration for the Italian team, with Néstor Girolami claiming pole for the second race after setting the tenth fastest time.
In cooler conditions on Saturday morning, the session was all about slipstreaming, with the three cars of BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse and the four-car teams of Lynk & Co Cyan Racing and GOAT Racing all working together to give each other a tow to make their way through into Q2.
The Hyundai drivers all went through, though one driver from the four-car squads failed to make the cut: Ma Qing Hua for Cyan Racing, and surprisingly Esteban Guerrieri, with the ballast-free Argentine failing to get a clear run, and having one of his earlier times deleted. He missed Q2 for the second weekend in a row, qualifying down in 15th.
TCR South America star Leonel Pernía was set to go through in 12th, until he was bumped by Felipe Fernández’s late improvement, with Fernández, Ruben Volt, and Jacopo Cimenes the three guest stars to get through to Q2.
In the second part of qualifying, Michelisz benefitted from a tow from teammate Azcona on his first run, during which he set the qualifying record of 1:54.347 to grab his first pole since Vallelunga last year. Michelisz would return the favour and help Azcona at the end of the session with another slipstream and this would help move up to second, displacing the fast CUPRA of SP Compétition’s Aurélien Comte.
Yann Ehrlacher and Santiago Urrutia went fourth and fifth fastest, with the points helping to extend Ehrlacher’s lead in the championship, while Girolami settled for a strategic tenth fastest time which secured him pole position for Race 2 tomorrow. It looked for a while that wild card Cimenes would have that honour, until Ruben Volt again proved himself the fastest of the non-regulars, placing his ALM Motorsport Honda in sixth on his final lap right at the end of the session.
Ehrlacher’s lead is now eight points over Urrutia, heading into this afternoon’s Race 1 which gets underway at 15:10 local time (CEST).
Qualifying
1:54.347 Norbert Michelisz (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N)
1:54.512 Mikel Azcona (BRC Hyundai N Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N)
1:54.560 Aurélien Comte (SP Compétition, CUPRA Leon VZ)
Championship points
- Y. Ehrlacher, 158 pts; 2. S. Urrutia, 150; 3. E. Guerrieri, 145
Picture: WSC/Fastclick
