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[WTCC] Yokohama Advans Take On British Weather At Brands Hatch |
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Saturday, 20 May 2006 |
YOKOHAMA ADVANS TAKE ON BRITISH WEATHER AT BRANDS HATCH
Today saw typical changeable British weather conditions for the third round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship at Brands Hatch. A torrential downpour interrupted first practice and took away some of the weight handicap disadvantage for home-boy Andy Priaulx (BMW) who set a remarkable fourth fastest time despite his additional 70kg. Yvan Muller set the fastest time but it was James Thompson who was topping the times in session two on a drier track.
Qualifying was a frenzy of activity. The greasy track was drying and the times got faster and faster. With each lap eight different drivers claimed provisional pole position with a changes on the board every lap. The ballast free Rickard Rydell claimed the top spot for race one tomorrow, with SEAT team mate Peter Terting alongside him on the front row. Third was a major achievement for Rob Huff in a Chevrolet whose previous best qualifying position was 15th. It was not without drama – on his last lap Rob pushed a little too hard and ended in a heavy impact with a wall. Despite his weight handicap, Andy Priaulx finished in tenth, the highest qualifying BMW.
In the Yokohama Independent Trophy battle, Tom Coronel driving a SEAT for team GR Asia was the highest qualifier in seventh place. Tom will be looking for a good result tomorrow to take the lead in the table. He currently lies three points behind
Rickard Rydell:
“We started on wet tyres but as the rain held of and the dry line was getting drier we knew we had to go to slicks. As the line dried all the time it’s the last two laps that count so it was a case of not pushing too hard on the tyres too soon. There’s very little room for error – only 10cm off the line can send you off the track and into the wall so it’s a balance of being careful and pushing. I was fastest for a long time on wets so I’m hoping for rain tomorrow.”
Kazuyoshi Sekiguchi, Yokohama
“The weather has perhaps been the worst possible – a mix of wet, damp and dry in practice which makes it hard for the teams going into qualifying. The track was obviously greasy so I think the drivers did very well. The number of drivers that made it to the top of the times through the session shows how even the performance is over the cars and drivers and is what makes the racing so exciting.”
The back-to-back races start at 14.15 on Sunday and are in the ITV1 programme with highlights at 3pm on Eurosport.
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