ROUNDS 03 & 04 – PUEBLA
QUALIFYING REPORT
FARFUS-PRIAULX WIN FRONT ROW FOR BMW
Augusto Farfus, Andy Priaulx and BMW pushed to the limit and interrupted SEAT’s domination that lasted since the test session in Curitiba.
Farfus won pole position, beating Priaulx by only 0.045 seconds, while Gabriele Tarquini saved SEAT’s honour claiming third position with a one-tenth gap.
Q1 – Augusto Farfus posted the fastest time of the session with a lap of 1:37.981, the first driver to break the 1:38. wall so far.
BMW and SEAT cars equally shared the ten positions giving access to Q2.
Although they sat in the pits until halfway through the session, all five SEAT Sport drivers managed to make the top-ten, with Gabriele Tarquini in second with a gap of 0.065 seconds after having clocked a provisional fastest lap at 1:38.047.
Félix Porteiro topped the Independents again and also managed to advance to Q2 setting the 10th fastest lap at 1:38.972.
Chevrolet and LADA drivers remained all out of Q2; Nicola Larini missed the top-ten by 18 thousandths of a second, while Jaap van Lagen’s session ended prematurely because of an engine leak.
Q2 – Yvan Muller was the first to post a quick lap at 1:37.924, but the reigning world champion was immediately ousted by Farfus with the time of 1:37.682.
Jordi Gené, Porteiro, Sergio Hernández and Andy Priaulx were the last to join the session. In the dying seconds Priaulx managed to jump into second with a lap of 1:38.727, a time which resisted to Tarquini’s last attempt that was worth third place (1:37.793).
Porteiro completed a lap of 1:38.525 that gave him a brilliant eighth position on the grid for Race 1.