Photo: Tamara Aller

Frédéric Vervisch claims close pole position at Motorland Aragon

By

Comtoyou Racing driver Frédéric Vervisch (Audi RS 3 LMS) was fastest of all in the final WTCR qualifying session at Motorland Aragon to claim the pole position for Sunday’s Race 2, beating Thed Björk by just 0.021 seconds.

Vervisch completed a tidy lap with a spectacular last sector to take the pole position with a lap time of 2:06.169.

Gilles Magnus made it two Audis in the top three, 0.185 seconds from his team-mate.

BRC Hyundai driver Norbert Michelisz (Hyundai Elantra N TCR) was the first to venture on the track in the Q3, setting a best lap time of 2:06.380, which allowed him to qualify in fourth place.

Engstler Hyundai driver Jean-Karl Vernay could only manage fifth position, setting a best lap time of 2:06.719.

Comtoyou Racing driver Nathanaël Berthon missed out on Q3 as his team-mate Gilles Magnus pulled a great last lap in Q2 and will start in sixth.

Tom Coronel further underlined the strong pace of the Audi drivers by qualifying in seventh place for Race 1.

Cyan Racing Lynk & Co’s Yann Ehrlacher qualified in eighth place, just ahead of Zengo Motorsport’s Mikel Azcona at the wheel of a Cupra Leon Competición.

Hyundai veteran Gabriele Tarquini finished in tenth place, claiming the reverse grid pole position for Race 1.

Yvan Muller (Lynk & Co 03 TCR) and Luca Engstler (Hyundai Elantra N TCR) finished in 11th and 12th places respectively, their grid positions for both races.

Cyan Racing driver Santiago Urrutia failed to make the Q1 cut, qualifying in 13th position for both races after a mistake on his last lap, losing the pass to Q2 by just six thousands of a second.

The Q1 session also proved tough for Münnich Motorsport drivers Esteban Guerrieri and Néstor Girolami, qualifying in 16th and 20th positions on the grid for both races.

After the qualifying session at Motorland Aragón, Vernay has extended his lead in the championship with 82 points, 23 ahead of Tassi and Müller, with Urrutia 30 points adrift.

The WTCR returns to the track on Sunday morning with Race 1 scheduled for 11:15 CEST.