Frédéric Vervisch gives first WTCR pole to the new Audi car
Frédéric Vervisch signed the first pole position for the new Audi RS 3 LMS TCR in the WTCR qualifying at MotorLand Aragón. With a stunning fourth sector in his Q3 lap, the Belgian driver clocked a lap of 2:06.169 beating Thed Björk’s provisional fastest lap by 21 thousandths of a second. Gilles Magnus (2:06.354), Norbert Michelisz (2:06.380) and Jean-Karl Vernay (2:06.719) completed the top-five.
The Q1 part of the session was incredibly close with the 13 fastest cars covered by less than half-a-second. Comtoyou Racing teammates Magnus (2:06.917), Vervisch (2:06.663), Nathanaël Berthon (2:06.585) and Tom Coronel (2:06.469) took stints on top of the timesheet until Yann Ehrlacher clocked the fastest lap of 2:06.441.
Björk provided the last change, moving up into P5 and kicking off his teammate Santiago Urrutia who had been only six thousandths slower than Mikel Azcona.
Behind Ehrlacher the rank was Coronel, Berthon, Vervisch, Björk, Yvan Muller, Luca Engstler, Magnus, Gabriele Tarquini, Vernay and Azcona. None of the Honda drivers made the cut, with Esteban Guerrieri the fastest in 16th position.
In Q2, Michelisz clocked a lap of 2:06.044 that nobody could beat. On his last attempt Magnus (2:06.154) moved into P2 ahead of Vervisch (2:06.327), Vernay (2:06.350) and Björk (2:06.374), while Berthon (2:06.466) and Coronel (2:06.566) were kicked off. Ehrlacher qualified eighth ahead of Azcona and Tarquini who will share the front row for tomorrow’s Race 1.
The session was red-flagged once in Q1, after only five minutes, when Attila Tassi’s Honda Civic stopped along the track with an electrical issue.
These results meant that Ehrlacher moved into second in the standings, four points behind Vernay.
The two races are due to start tomorrow at 11.15 and 13:15 local times (CEST).
Aragón – Qualifying
1:06.169 Frédéric Vervisch (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)
1:06.190 Thed Björk (Cyan Performance, Lynk & Co 03)
1:06.354 Gilles Magnus (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS)
1:06.380 Norbert Michelisz (BRC Squadra Corse, Hyundai Elantra N)
1:06.719 Jean-Karl Vernay (Engstler Racing Team, Hyundai Elantra N)
Championship points
1. JK. Vernay 63 pts; 2. Y. Ehrlacher 59; 3. A. Tassi 56
Picture: WTCR/DPPI
