Photo: TCR Spain

Ruben Volt claims the first pole position of the year at Barcelona

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ALM Motorsport’s Ruben Volt scored the first pole position of the 2025 TCR Spain season in Barcelona following a session where he dominated at the front of the field.

The session took place on a dry track, after the rain that had fallen over the Barcelona circuit during the morning.

The entire field took to the track at the green light for the Q1, with Auto Club RC2 Vallés’ Felipe Fernández the first to set a reference lap time.

TPR Motorsport’s Mike Halder and Volt then alternated at the top spot, as his ALM Motorsport team-mate Sten-Dorian Piirimägi remained in the top-three.

Volt led Q1, followed by Halder and Felipe Fernández, with Piirimägi in fourth place. Monlau Motorsport’s Erik Zabala was fifth aboard his Cupra Leon VZ, followed by Michael Markussen at the wheel of his Honda.

TPR Motorsport’s Rene Polvsen was seventh followed by Monlau Motorsport’s Eric Gené with his team-mate Jason Brickley, who received several track-limits warning during the session, in ninth.

Ruben Fernández completed the top ten, with SP Compétition’s Giovanni Scamardi and Auto Club RC2 Vallés’ Víctor Fernández Gil rounding out the list of drivers going through to Q2.

Gené was the first driver to rise to the top in Q2, quickly overtaken by Volt and with Piirimägi settling in third.

Volt improved his lap time with three minutes to go despite a slower third sector, as Gené returned to the pits, unable to close on the Estonian, who claimed the pole position with a lap time of 1:49.727, followed by Gené three-tenths behind and Piirimägi, four-tenths adrift.

Felipe Fernández Gil was fourth, six-tenths off the pace, followed by Eric Zabala who, with a just one flying lap attempt, rose to fifth position as the chequered flag waived over the Montmeló track.

Rubén Fernández was sixth, followed by Mike Halder, who sat in the pits after just one flying pal, finishing 1.3 seconds off the pace.

Markussen qualified in eighth place, followed by Povlsen and Scamardi, completing the top ten. Savoldelli and Brickley will start both races from eleventh and twelfth spots on the grid respectively, after the Briton lost his fastest lap-time due to a track limits infringement.

The TCR Spain field returns to the track for the first race of the season on Sunday morning at 9:15 CET.