Fifth and ninth for Asmer, two eighth place starts for Grubmüller
Hitech Racing’s Walter Grubmüller equalled his best qualifying of the season with two eighth places on his first ever visit to the ultra-fast Thruxton circuit, out-qualifying his championship-leading team-mate Marko Asmer in session one. Marko had a day of mixed fortunes qualifying ninth and fifth for the two Lloyds TSB Insurance British Formula 3 International Series races which take place at the Hampshire track tomorrow.
A problem in yesterday’s test sessions which severely reduced his track time and then a slower car in today’s opening session prevented 23 year-old Marko from repeating his double pole last time out as he wound up ninth. After making some changes to his Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA between sessions he improved to post the fifth quickest time, with Walter again eighth quickest, marking a return to form for the 18 year-old Austrian.
For the championship leaders, who headed to the ultra-fast Hampshire track looking to consolidate its 84 point championship advantage, the performance comes as a disappointment for the Silverstone-based team. But team Principal David Hayle remains optimistic of a return to form which resulted in double race victory last time out, although feels it’s a case of damage limitation in tomorrow’s two 30 minute races.
David Hayle: “For Walter it’s been fantastic, he’s equalled his best qualifying performance to take two top ten starts and significantly out-qualified his team-mate in qualifying one which for Walter is fantastic news and is a job really well done by him. We had a problem with Marko but we think we’ve found the problem and he improved his qualifying time, not well enough sadly so now it’s a case of damage limitation. If we can get two podiums with Marko and a podium with Walter then I think that’s about all we can expect to be honest from this weekend.”
Walter Grubmüller: “After the last couple of races which have been a bit frustrating it’s good to be back up in the top ten again, I tried to find a gap and managed to get a toe and had no real problems. It’s my first time here and I like it a lot, it’s very fast and it’s hard to be precise but I’m really looking forward to the races tomorrow, where I’ll be pushing hard and hoping for a top six finish.”
Marko Asmer: “I got some traffic on my quick laps in the first session the car’s not quite right, we changed it a bit for the second session, which didn’t really make much difference but I was able to get a clearer lap. I’m not sure if we went in the right direction, the car just doesn’t feel as good as it has. So we need to work on that now and try and find the reason for that to make it better for the races.”
The two 30 minute races are scheduled to take place tomorrow at 11.45 and 15.30.
Qualifying for Round 17:
1. Sebastian Hohenthal Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.346
2. Atte Mustonen Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.618
3. Niall Breen Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.710
4. Sam Bird Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.828
5. Stephen Jelley F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.829
6. Jonathan Kennard F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.875
8. Walter Grubmüller Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:07.020
9. Marko Asmer Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:07.026
Qualifying for Round 18:
1. Atte Mustonen Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.593
2. Stephen Jelley Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.869
3. Greg Mansell Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.981
4. Maro Engel Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.997
5. Marko Asmer Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:06.999
6. Niall Breen Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:07.014
8. Walter Grubmüller Dallara F307 Mercedes HWA 1:07.175
Championship points after Round 16
1 Marko Asmer 240
2 Maro Engel 156
2 Sam Bird 150
4 Stephen Jelley 131
5 Jonathan Kennard 115
6 Niall Breen 107
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