Luca Filippi takes his maiden TCR Europe pole
Luca Filippi claimed his maiden pole position in TCR Europe beating Josh Files in a thrilling qualifying session that saw three Hyundai cars on top of the timesheet. Filippi’s fastest lap in Q2 of 1:36.128 was only five hundredths of a second better than Files’ 1:36.179. Nelson Panciatici qualified in third position ahead of Davit Kajaia and Daniel Lloyd.
Tom Coronel was placed tenth and secured the pole position for tomorrow’s Race 2, he will have Gianni Morbidelli alongside him.
Several drivers had their lap times disallowed for exceeding track limits. Luca Engstler was the most undisciplined and was penalised in both Q1 and Q2. He had posted the third fastest lap in Q1, but dropped to 11th and the sixth fastest lap in Q2, but dropped to eighth.
Race 1 will start this afternoon at 13:30; live streaming at www.tcr-series.com and www.tcr-series.tv.
Q1 – Files posts the fastest lap after the red flag
L. Filippi (1:37.601), Coronel (1:37.433), Panciatici (1:37.421) and Engstler (1:47.004) posted provisional fastest laps in the early stages.
Midway through the 20-minute Q1, Files was the first driver to break the 1:27 mark and posted a fastest lap of 1:36.625, demoting Engstler to second. Three minutes later L. Filippi improved the fastest lap to 1:36.575, but then Olli Kangas crashed at T1 and the red flag was waved.
The session resumed with only three minutes left, so only one flying lap was possible. It was enough for Files to set the fastest lap for good of 1:36.233. Many other drivers improved as well, L. Filippi (1:36.318), Coronel (1:36.617) and Panciatici (1:36.739) advanced to second, third and fourth respectively. Engstler set the third fastest lap (1:36.531) but this was disallowed for track limits, though the German youngster managed to qualify for Q2 in 11th position. Santiago Urrutia was the first of those who remained out in 13th position, 0.088 behind Morbidelli.
The following drivers advanced to Q2: Files, L. Filippi, Coronel, Panciatici, Lloyd, Potty, Magnus, Kajaia, Morgan, Homola, Engstler and Morbidelli.
Q2 – L. Filippi, Files and Panciatici make a Hyundai 1-2-3
Files jumped on top on his first lap out of 1:36.391, but L. Filippi immediately improved to 1:36.331 and then improved again to 1:36.128 securing the pole position. Files responded with a 1:36.179 that was only good for taking the second place.
Engstler again had his fastest lap of 1:36.593 disallowed for track limits, but eventually posted a 1:36.842 to qualify in seventh position. Panciatici completed a Hyundai 1-2-3 on top of the timesheet, while Davit Kajaia ranked fourth.
Qualifying
1. 1:36.128 – Luca Filippi (BRC Racing, Hyundai i30 N)
2. 1:36.179 – Josh Files (Target Competition, Hyundai i30 N)
3. 1:36.474 – Nelson Panciatici (M Racing, Hyundai i30 N)
4. 1:36.508 – Davit Kajaia (PCR Sport with Georgia, CUPRA)
5. 1:36.573 – Daniel Lloyd (Brutal Fish Racing Team, Honda Civic FK7)
Championship points
1. Briché 147; 2. Magnus 134; 3. Comte 123
