Buurman leads Superleague practice
Superleague Formula points leader Yelmer Buurman of AC Milan topped the times in the two free practice sessions ahead of qualifying for round seven at Brands Hatch in England
In the morning's first session, held in damp but drying conditions, Buurman topped the times despite a brief gravelly off at Paddock Hill Bend. He was two tenths quicker than John Martin, who was quick in A1GP here, and Chris van der Drift, a winner at Brands in Formula Master in 2008.
In the faster, and totally dry, second session, Buurman brought his time down to 1m13.995s, just 0.071s faster than Andy Soucek in the Sporting Lisbon car. Van der Drift was third fastest for Olympiacos, but two tenths back on the leaders, with Martin (Beijing Guoan) and Duncan Tappy (Flamengo) next up.
Narain Karthikeyan bounced back from a broken driveshaft in the first session to finish the second in sixth, ahead of Liverpool's James Walker. The other Premier League entry, Tottenham Hotspur's Craig Dolby, was down in 10th, almost a second off the pace of title rival Buurman.
There were plenty of incidents as the Superleague cars ran at Brands for the first time. Spins into the gravel for Franck Montagny and Franck Perera brought out waved yellow flags towards the end of the first session.
Druids was the accident magnet in the second period, as Davide Rigon slammed the barrier hard enough to remove his Anderlecht car's left-front corner, and was joined in the car graveyard by Azerti team-mate Robert Doornbos (Corinthians).
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Yelmer Buurman AC Milan 1m13.995s 2. Andy Soucek Sporting Clube de Portugal 1m14.066s + 0.071s 3. Chris van der Drift Olympiacos 1m14.201s + 0.206s 4. John Martin Beijing Guoan 1m14.204s + 0.209s 5. Duncan Tappy Flamengo 1m14.301s + 0.306s 6. Narain Karthikeyan PSV Eindhoven 1m14.409s + 0.414s 7. James Walker Liverpool FC 1m14.445s + 0.450s 8. Franck Perera Olympique Lyonnais 1m14.886s + 0.891s 9. Julien Jousse AS Roma 1m14.902s + 0.907s 10. Craig Dolby Tottenham Hotspur 1m14.950s + 0.955s 11. Alvaro Parente FC Porto 1m15.222s + 1.227s 12. Franck Montagny Girondins de Bordeaux 1m15.383s + 1.388s 13. Marcos Martinez Sevilla FC 1m15.412s + 1.417s 14. Tristan Gommendy Galatasaray 1m15.786s + 1.791s 15. Max Wissel FC Basel 1m16.329s + 2.334s 16. Maria de Villota Atletico de Madrid 1m16.936s + 2.941s 17. Robert Doornbos Corinthians 1m17.784s + 3.789s 18. Davide Rigon RSC Anderlecht 1m17.805s + 3.810s
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