Martin was handed both poles after Rossi (pictured) and Enjalbert were penalised for yellow flag infringements
07/06/08 - Silverstone - Qualifying
Penalized for failing to slow down when the yellow flags were brought out, Dimitri Enjalbert (Tech 1 Racing) and Michaël Rossi (TDS), have been stripped of the pole positions they were initially awarded, to the benefit of Maxime Martin (Boutsen Energy Racing) and Michaël Rossi (TDS). The Belgian driver will now start from pole in both the weekend's races.
Michaël Rossi set his stall out from the start, clocking the first serious time of the session ahead of Ralph Meichtry (Race Performance) and Matthieu Cheruy (Tech 1 Racing). Angelo Baiguera (Oregon Team) then ran into the gravel trap, precipitating a yellow flag that broke everyone's momentum.
Immediately after the restart, Michaël Rossi consolidated his first place with a time of 1'54''484. Behind the leader, positions were frequently changing hands. Maxime Martin (Boutsen Energy Racing) moved up into second place and Bernhard Ten Brinke (Equipe Verschuur) third.
Dimitri Enjalbert (Tech 1 Racing) was the first man to dislodge Rossi from provisional pole position. But he barely had time to savour the moment, as first Matthieu Chéruy, then Maxime Martin surpassed his efforts. With eight minutes remaining, Maxime Martin was lying in pole position with a best time of 1'54''245, ahead of Matthieu Cheruy, Dimitri Enjalbert, Michaël Rossi and Sébastien Dhouailly (Team Lompech Sport).
Dimitri Enjalbert pushed hard again and reclaimed the lead. With a lap timed at 1'53''776 the Tech 1 Racing driver opened up a gap over Martin and Rossi. The latter set off for one last attempt, but couldn't oust Enjalbert from pole position. He did, however, boast the second fastest time of the session.
So Enjalbert achieved the fastest time of the session, ahead of Maxime Martin and Michaël Rossi, but after the race six drivers had their best times cancelled for failing to slow down when the yellow flags came out: Dimitri Enjalbert, Matthieu Cheruy, Bernard Delhez (Tech 1 Racing), Ralph Meichtry, Andreas Mayerl (Race Performance) and Michaël Rossi.
Maxime Martin therefore inherited pole position for both races. On the grid for race 1, he will line up in front of Michaël Rossi, Dimitri Enjalbert and Jonathan Hirschi, while the grid for the second race will be noticeably different, with Martin, Enjalbert and Dhouailly on the first two rows.
Maxime Martin: I was happy with my two second places, and obviously two poles is better! I'm satisfied with my performance, we've done some good work on the car with the team. Anything could happen in the races. The start will be interesting here. We've got high hopes!
| POS | NUMBER | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME | GAP_FIRST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Maxime MARTIN | Boutsen Energy Racing | 01:54.2 | - |
| 2 | 12 | Michaël ROSSI | TDS | 01:54.2 | 0.028 |
| 3 | 1 | Dimitri ENJALBERT | Tech 1 Racing 1 | 01:54.3 | 0.151 |
| 4 | 3 | Jonathan HIRSCHI | Tech 1 Racing 2 | 01:54.5 | 0.351 |
| 5 | 15 | Sébastien DHOUAILLY | Team Lompech Sport | 01:54.7 | 0.513 |
| 6 | 2 | Matthieu CHERUY | Tech 1 Racing 1 | 01:54.9 | 0.724 |
| 7 | 24 | Fabrice WALFISCH | Oregon Team 1 | 01:55.0 | 0.784 |
| 8 | 7 | Bernhard TEN BRINKE | Equipe Verschuur 1 | 01:55.0 | 0.855 |
| 9 | 10 | Ralph MEICHTRY | Race Performance | 01:55.5 | 1.356 |
| 10 | 14 | Jean - Philippe MADONIA | TDS | 01:55.6 | 1.398 |
| 11 | 9 | David DERMONT | Boutsen Energy Racing | 01:55.7 | 1.515 |
| 12 | 25 | Giuseppe TERMINE | Oregon Team 1 | 01:55.9 | 1.755 |
| 13 | 20 | Wim BEELEN | Equipe Verschuur 2 | 01:56.1 | 1.942 |
| 14 | 21 | Hoevert VOS | Equipe Verschuur 2 | 01:56.2 | 2.035 |
| 15 | 11 | Andreas MAYERL | Race Performance | 01:57.1 | 2.947 |
| 16 | 4 | Bernard DELHEZ | Tech 1 Racing 2 | 01:58.5 | 4.332 |
| 17 | 6 | Harrie KOLEN | Equipe Verschuur 1 | 01:59.3 | 5.102 |
| 18 | 17 | Pierre HIRSCHI | Team Lompech Sport | 02:00.1 | 5.982 |
| 19 | 18 | Rafael UNZURRUNZAGA | Blue Jumeirah Team | 02:02.2 | 8.016 |
| 20 | 16 | Jean - Charles MIGINIAC | Team Lompech Sport | 02:02.7 | 8.504 |
| 73 | Angelo BAIGUERA | Oregon Team 1 |
| POS | NUMBER | DRIVER | TEAM | TIME | GAP_FIRST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Maxime MARTIN | Boutsen Energy Racing | 01:54.2 | - |
| 2 | 1 | Dimitri ENJALBERT | Tech 1 Racing 1 | 01:54.4 | 0.11 |
| 3 | 12 | Michaël ROSSI | TDS | 01:54.4 | 0.151 |
| 4 | 15 | Sébastien DHOUAILLY | Team Lompech Sport | 01:54.9 | 0.623 |
| 5 | 3 | Jonathan HIRSCHI | Tech 1 Racing 2 | 01:54.9 | 0.652 |
| 6 | 2 | Matthieu CHERUY | Tech 1 Racing 1 | 01:55.3 | 1.014 |
| 7 | 7 | Bernhard TEN BRINKE | Equipe Verschuur 1 | 01:55.3 | 1.094 |
| 8 | 24 | Fabrice WALFISCH | Oregon Team 1 | 01:55.4 | 1.106 |
| 9 | 10 | Ralph MEICHTRY | Race Performance | 01:55.5 | 1.291 |
| 10 | 9 | David DERMONT | Boutsen Energy Racing | 01:56.1 | 1.857 |
| 11 | 20 | Wim BEELEN | Equipe Verschuur 2 | 01:56.1 | 1.885 |
| 12 | 14 | Jean - Philippe MADONIA | TDS | 01:56.1 | 1.895 |
| 13 | 21 | Hoevert VOS | Equipe Verschuur 2 | 01:56.4 | 2.143 |
| 14 | 25 | Giuseppe TERMINE | Oregon Team 1 | 01:56.7 | 2.413 |
| 15 | 11 | Andreas MAYERL | Race Performance | 01:57.2 | 2.976 |
| 16 | 4 | Bernard DELHEZ | Tech 1 Racing 2 | 01:58.7 | 4.452 |
| 17 | 6 | Harrie KOLEN | Equipe Verschuur 1 | 01:59.3 | 5.046 |
| 18 | 17 | Pierre HIRSCHI | Team Lompech Sport | 02:00.6 | 6.34 |
| 19 | 18 | Rafael UNZURRUNZAGA | Blue Jumeirah Team | 02:02.5 | 8.227 |
| 20 | 16 | Jean - Charles MIGINIAC | Team Lompech Sport | 02:02.8 | 8.507 |
| 73 | Angelo BAIGUERA | Oregon Team 1 |