Alain Menu missed pole by 0.002 seconds
BMW
Chevrolet
Seat
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BMW
BMW driver Augusto Farfus claims pole position in Brands Hatch.
Brands Hatch, 26th July 2008. Augusto Farfus (BR) secured pole position in qualifying for round 13 of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. At the "Brands Hatch Circuit" the BMW Team Germany driver set the fastest lap time with 1:32.794 minutes, thus relegating Chevrolet's Alain Menu (CH) to second with a gap of just two thousandths of a second. Andy Priaulx (GB) was fourth with a time of 1:33.307 minutes while Farfus' team-mate, Jorg Muller (DE), was fifth quickest ahead of Sunday's first race. Alessandro Zanardi (IT) finished eighth for BMW Team Italy- Spain. His team-mate Felix Porteiro (ES) had to make do with 15th after being stranded in the gravel on his final lap.
"Since the Estoril weekend we have done a very good job," said Farfus following the 30-minute qualifying session. "This effort paid off today. My car behaved fantastically. Big thanks go to BMW and the team, who obviously have a great share in this success. Alain Menu and I fought hard for the top position in the practice sessions, and now I'm happy I emerged as pole-sitter - even if it was by a very small margin. Tomorrow I will do my best to defend the lead in the first corner and then quickly find my own rhythm." As early as his first "flying" lap Farfus was quickest. On his second attempt, 12 minutes before the end of the session, he succeeded in improving by another 0.276 seconds. When his main rivals for pole went out for their final runs, Farfus and BMW Team Germany watched the on track action carefully. After Menu failed to beat the 24-year-old's time, Farfus didn't need to do another flyer so saved a fresh set of tyres.
An hour before the start of qualifying it was Priaulx who provided the first highlight of the weekend. He went on track behind the wheel of a BMW Sauber F1 Team race car and completed a total of five laps of the 3.703-kilometre circuit. "That was the most amazing experience," said the triple World Touring Car Champion. "It gives you a lot of respect for those guys who drove Formula One races here in the eighties - they were really brave. This car does everything better than any other sort of car. The engine performance is really quick and the grip is just phenomenal. For me it is weird to drive two so different cars in such a small space of time. I hope I entertained the fans here today. Augusto did a truly special lap in qualifying. My own result was better than we had expected." On Sunday Priaulx will thrill the British fans again at 15:30hrs local time, when he goes out a second time in the F1 car. On Thursday Priaulx used the run up to his home event to launch his new autobiography.
Race one will start on Sunday at 12.05hrs, the second race will start at 13:20hrs. Both rounds will be televised by Eurosport International. They will also be streamed live on the internet, at www.bmw-motorsport.com.
Chevrolet
LACETTIS FLY: ALAIN MENU JUST 0.002 SECS FROM BRANDS POLE
Rob Huff In 3rd; Nicola Larini In 7th
BRANDS HATCH, 26th July 2008 In one of the closest fought qualifying sessions in WTCC history, double Brands Hatch winner, Alain Menu missed out on pole position by the smallest of margins, today. The Swiss, Chevrolet's most successful WTCC driver, set the second fastest time, just 0.002 seconds slower than pole sitter Augusto Farfus, after dominating the two free practice sessions. Chevrolet's championship leader, Rob Huff, qualified in third despite carrying a boot full of success ballast, while Nicola Larini set the seventh time. While Menu and Huff will try to go for glory in tomorrow's first race, Larini will concentrate on finishing the first race in function of the second, i.e. in eighth position in order to be able to start from pole in the second.
QUOTES
Alain Menu (2nd): "I would have liked to have won the pole, of course, but 0.002 seconds is nothing, so I can't be too disappointed. For some reason the first two sets of tyres didn't quite work the way they should, but the third one did the job. I went for another fast lap on that set but then a car went off in the last corner in the dying seconds of the session, so that was it. Brands Hatch is a track I like very much, so I'm quite looking forward to the challenge, especially since the Chevrolet Lacetti is very quick here."
Rob Huff (3rd): "I'm quite surprised to be right up there with 46 kilos of ballast. We made a few changes before qualifying and that worked. As for the race, we'll have to wait and see how it develops. You can have as many plans as you like but at Brands Hatch they rarely work. So the main mission will be to stay out of trouble in Paddock Hill bend at the start and take it from there."
Nicola Larini (7th): "Considering it didn't quite go the way I wanted in this morning's free practice sessions I'm quite happy to be where I am. I'm driving the heaviest of the Chevrolets but the car clearly likes this track. I lost some time due to another competitor on my second set of tyres, if not I might have finished a place or so higher up. But I'm nevertheless happy, as my seventh place starting position will allow me to drive race 1 in function of the second one, so finishing in eighth in the first race will be my target."
Seat
SEAT Sport facing a difficult race
The qualifying session for the first race of the WTCC, to be staged tomorrow on the British Brands Hatch racetrack, did not bring favourable grid positions for the SEAT Sport drivers. Yvan Muller was the fastest of them, qualifying sixth, whilst Tiago Monteiro finished eleventh. For Gene (14th), Rydell (16th) and Tarquini (18th) tomorrow's race can only be a fight to recover positions.