KCMG Honda cars top Qualifying 2 with Tassi and Monteiro
Attila Tassi topped the full WTCR’s second Qualifying at Vila Real and claimed his first pole position in the FIA World Cup. The Hungarian youngster was fastest in Q1, Q2 and Q3, beating his teammate and local hero Tiago Monteiro who will start Race 3 from the front row before the cheering Portuguese crowd.
In Q1, the fastest 18 cars were covered by nine tenths only. Tassi set the best time of 1:59.584 just before the chequered flag was waved, beating Kevin Ceccon’s 1:59.634 by 50 thousandths and demoting Ma Qing Hua (1:59.760) to third. Monteiro ranked in fourth position, six thousandths behind the Chinese.
Esteban Guerrieri, Néstor Girolami, Nicky Catsburg, Mikel Azcona, Yann Ehrlacher, Rob Huff, Yvan Muller and Jean-Karl Vernay rounded off the top-twelve who advanced to Q2. Frédéric Vervisch, by three thousandths, was the first one who failed to make the cut in 13th position. Out of Q2 were also Thed Björk (15th), Race 1 winner Norbert Michelisz (16th), Gabriele Tarquini (17th) and Augusto Farfus who had crashed in the early stages.
Tassi topped Q2 as well with a lap of 1:59.445, beating Muller’s 1:59.643, Monteiro’s 1:59.722, Huff’s 1:59.734 and Ehrlacher’s 1:59.761.
This part of the session was disrupted by the red flag after six minutes, when Ceccon crashed his Alfa Romeo. As a consolation for Team Mulsanne, Ma qualified in tenth position and won the pole on the reversed grid for this afternoon’s Race 2, with Guerrieri alongside him.
With an impressive second sector, Monteiro was the first driver to break the two-minute wall in Q3, however, Tassi was faster by 0.141 seconds, while Ehrlacher confirmed his third position as in yesterday’s Qualifying 1.
Race 2 will start at 15:30 local time (16:30 CET).
Qualifying 2
1. 1:59.808 – Attila Tassi (KCMG, Honda Civic FK7)
2. 1:59.949 – Tiago Monteiro (KCMG, Honda Civic FK7)
3. 2:00.122 – Yann Ehrlacher (Cyan Racing, Lykn&Co 03)
4. 2:00.286 – Yvan Muller (Cyan Racing, Lykn&Co 03)
5. 2:00.424 – Rob Huff (S. Loeb Racing, Volkswagen Golf GTI)
Championship points
1. Esteban Guerrieri 215 pts; 2. Michelisz 200; 3. Thed Björk 169
