Mikel Azcona claimed his first pole position of the season in Qualifying at The Bend. The BRC Hyundai driver was the only one capable of breaking the 1:55 barrier and outpaced the rest of the field with an impressive lap of 1:54.4064, beating his teammate Norbert Michelisz by seven tenths.
On his last lap, Michelisz demoted the points leader Yann Ehrlacher to third, while Josh Buchan emerged as the best of the TCR Australia contingent in fourth position.
Aurélien Comte qualified tenth and secured the pole for Sunday’s Race 2.
Azcona was consistently on top of the time sheet in Q1 as he posted the first significant lap of 1:55.2167 and then improved to 1:55.1945 just before the end of the session. Fellow Hyundai drivers Michelisz and Buchan placed second and third with gaps of 0.154 and 0.485 seconds, with Lynk & Co’s Ehrlacher and Thed Björk just behind.
The others to make the cut for Q2 were Néstor Girolami, Ignacio Montenegro, Santiago Urrutia, Aurélien Comte, Esteban Guerrieri, Ryan MacMillan and Ma Qing Hua who kicked off Cody Burcher on his last lap.
Early in Q2, Azcona posted an impressive 1:54.4064 that was not to be beaten, while there was a thrilling battle for the positions behind him. Late in the session, Ehrlacher moved up to second ahead of Michelisz, but the Hungarian driver was able to retake the position under the chequered flag.
Race 1 will start at 14:15 local time (06:45 CEST).
"I’m so happy to be on pole here at The Bend after such a difficult first half of the season,” Azcona said. “It wasn't easy especially as track conditions were so different compared to free practice this morning, but the team did an amazing job to give me the best car possible. It's an important statement to lock out the front row of the grid and gives me confidence not only for today's race, but for the second half of the season."
Qualifying
1:54.4064 Mikel Azcona (BRC Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N)
1:55.1293 Norbert Michelisz (BRC Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N)
1:55.5602 Yann Ehrlacher (Lynk & Co Cyan Racing, Lynk & Co 03)
Championship points
- Y. Ehrlacher, 258 pts; 2. E. Guerrieri, 223; 3. S. Urrutia, 215
Picture: WSC/Jun Qian Motorsport
