MASS PENALTIES PUT NYKJÆR ON POLE
The Panel of the Stewards has hit out with force at the drivers who turned today’s WTCC qualifying session at the Salzburgring into a slow procession.
Fourteen of them were investigated and twelve deemed guilty for “Unsporting behaviour on the track which damages the image of motorsport in general and in particular the FIA WTCC” either in Q1 or Q2 or in both. The relevant offences relate to breaches of Appendix L, Chapter 4, Article 2e (that states: It is not permitted to drive any car unnecessarily slowly…) and Article 151 of the International Sporting Code.
The Stewards imposed the following grid penalties for tomorrow’s Race 1: Tarquini (6th) twenty-four; Oriola (8th) sixteen; Coronel (12th) fiftteen; Muller (1st), Chilton (2nd), Monteiro (7th) and Michelisz (9th) twelve; Huff (3rd) ten; MacDowall (4th) eight; D’Aste (11th), Valente (18th) and O’Young (19th) five positions.
These competitors also received fines ranging from € 1,000 to 6,000.
This places Michel Nykjær – the only Q2 qualifier not under investigation – on pole position for the first race.
MULLER FASTEST AFTER STRANGEST QUALIFYING
The least it can be said is that this was the strangest qualifying session ever in WTCC. Possibly one of the strangest ever in motorsport history.
It is true that slipstream at the Salzburgring makes a big difference – up to seven tenths a lap for WTCC cars. And this pushed drivers to act like sprint cyclists in a
velodrome.
Provisional results spoke of Muller’s third pole position of the season, the second in a row after Budapest. However, the Stewards had something to say and punished fourteen drivers.
ETCC ROUNDS 5 & 6
FULÍN, ORIOLA AND KRAMMES CLAIM POLE POSITION
Following today’s thirty-minute Qualifying session at the Salzburgring, it will be the BMW 320si of Petr Fulín that will be on pole position for the first of tomorrow’s two ETCC races. Fulín set his best time (1:30.537) on only his third lap, with Igor Skuz (1:30.570) second fastest in a SEAT León, a fraction over three-hundredths of a second behind Fulín.
Behind the two Super 2000 cars, in the Single-Make Trophy for SEAT León Supercópa cars, it was Jordi Oriola who was quickest with a best lap of 1:30.599. Sixth overall and second of the SMT competitors was Andreas Pfister (1:30.855) while less than a second covered the top thirteen cars.
The Super 1600 category saw the Ford Fiesta of Kevin Krammes set the fastest lap time (1:40.781), but Gilles Bruckner (1:40.839) qualified just under six-hundredths of a second adrift of Krammes and so the scene is set for a good battle in S1600 tomorrow.
The Ladies’ Cup saw Andrina Gugger (1:32.155) qualify in 20th place overall and 10th in S2000, while Ulrike Krafft (1:42.608) was 27th overall and 5th in Super 1600. Ksenya Niks (1:50.193) could only manage 30th overall and 8th in S1600 after going off into the gravel at Turn 1 late in the session.