Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Yvan Muller heads Chevrolet 1-2-3 in WTCC qualifying at Donington Park

Yvan Muller secured pole position for Sunday's opening World Touring Car Championship race at Donington Park, leading a Chevrolet 1-2-3 in qualifying

The session started wet but became progressively drier, putting a premium on being out on the track at the right time.

Muller had been in control for most of the second phase of qualifying, but briefly lost the top spot to his championship-leading team-mate Rob Huff before reclaiming it on his final flying lap.

The result extends Chevrolet's pole streak to seven from seven rounds this year.

Alain Menu was third-quickest of the Chevys to finish just ahead of Tiago Monteiro's SUNRED SEAT,while a superb performance from Colin Turkington was rewarded with fifth on the grid and first of the Independent cars in his Wiechers-Sport BMW.

Darryl O'Young (bamboo Chevy), Franz Engstler (Engstler BMW), Tom Coronel (ROAL BMW), Javier Villa (Proteam BMW) and Michel Nykjaer (SUNRED SEAT) completed the top 10, although Villa faces a five-place grid penalty carried over from the previous round at Porto.

Among those who lost out during the session was 2009 world champion Gabriele Tarquini, who experimented with running wets on the front and ran out of time to change back when it became clear that slicks were the way to go, costing him a place in the top 10.

Race one grid:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car          Time       Gap
 1.  Yvan Muller         Chevrolet         1m38.470s
 2.  Rob Huff            Chevrolet         1m38.551s  + 0.081s
 3.  Alain Menu          Chevrolet         1m38.794s  + 0.324s
 4.  Tiago Monteiro      SUNRED SEAT       1m39.167s  + 0.697s
 5.  Colin Turkington    Wiechers BMW      1m39.332s  + 0.862s
 6.  Darryl O'Young      Bamboo Chevrolet  1m39.471s  + 1.001s
 7.  Franz Engstler      Engstler BMW      1m39.686s  + 1.216s
 8.  Tom Coronel         ROAL BMW          1m39.966s  + 1.496s
 9.  Javier Villa        Proteam BMW       1m40.047s  + 1.577s
10.  Michel Nykjaer      SUNRED SEAT       1m40.152s  + 1.682s
11.  Gabriele Tarquini   SUNRED SEAT       1m41.450s  Q1
12.  Kristian Poulsen    Engstler BMW      1m41.530s  Q1
13.  Fredy Barth         SUNRED SEAT       1m41.557s  Q1
14.  Pepe Oriola         SUNRED SEAT       1m41.590s  Q1
15.  Mehdi Bennani       Proteam BMW       1m42.179s  Q1
16.  Yukinori Taniguchi  Bamboo Chevrolet  1m42.576s  Q1
17.  Aleksei Dudukalo    SUNRED SEAT       1m42.871s  Q1
18.  Norbert Michelisz   Zengo BMW         1m45.720s  Q1
19.  Robert Dahlgren     Polestar Volvo    1m48.569s  Q1
20.  Fabio Fabiani       Proteam BMW       1m55.478s  Q1

Race two grid:

Pos  Driver              Team/Car
 1.  Tom Coronel         ROAL BMW
 2.  Michel Nykjaer      SUNRED SEAT
 3.  Javier Villa        Proteam BMW
 4.  Tiago Monteiro      SUNRED SEAT
 5.  Franz Engstler      Engstler BMW
 6.  Colin Turkington    Wiechers BMW
 7.  Darryl O'Young      Bamboo Chevrolet
 8.  Alain Menu          Chevrolet
 9.  Rob Huff            Chevrolet
10.  Yvan Muller         Chevrolet
11.  Gabriele Tarquini   SUNRED SEAT
12.  Kristian Poulsen    Engstler BMW
13.  Fredy Barth         SUNRED SEAT
14.  Pepe Oriola         SUNRED SEAT
15.  Mehdi Bennani       Proteam BMW
16.  Yukinori Taniguchi  Bamboo Chevrolet
17.  Aleksei Dudukalo    SUNRED SEAT
18.  Norbert Michelisz   Zengo BMW
19.  Robert Dahlgren     Polestar Volvo
20.  Fabio Fabiani       Proteam BMW

Race one grid: Q2 top 10 and Q1 from 11th
Race two grid: Q1 with top 10 reversed

Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Rob Huff stays on top in Donington Park practice two
Next article Yvan Muller beats Rob Huff in first World Touring Car race at Donington Park

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe