Qualifying: Aiello takes pole position

Aiello set the early pace in overcast conditions as the vast majority of the drivers chose to set banker laps in case of rain. Although a tiny smattering of water fell around the halfway point of the 45 minute session, it made little difference to the track's pace. Martin Tomczyk briefly held pole position during the early scramble before his more experienced team-mate eclipsed his time, the pair leading the early Audi domination of the time sheets. Only Mercedes' Marcel Fassler held a top six position early on, eventually finishing sixth, 0.555s off Aiello.

Schneider had struggled to get on the pace during the first half of the session, languishing well outside the top ten throughout the first twenty minutes. However, on successive runs Schnieder improved his times before knocking Aiello off pole with 12 minutes remaining. Schneider was visibly at the limit throughout his lap, which featured an rapid final sector time several tenths faster than anyone else. With all of his runs completed, Schneider could only sit and watch as Aiello commenced his final run

The Frenchman looked untroubled as he set a 1m39.027s, easily the quickest lap of the weekend so far, to beat Schneider by 0.206s.

"It was another big fight with Bernd," said Aiello. "I realised after practice that he would be very quick in qualifying, and although I was confident it's very easy to make a little mistake and run wide here when under pressure."

Aiello's team-mate, Chrsitian Abt, will start third on the grid ahead of fellow Audi runners Mattias Ekstrom and Martin Tomczyk. All three mixed it with Aiello early on, but were powerless to influence the raging battle for pole between two of touring car racing's biggest names.

Top Opel Astra Coupe runner was Jo Winkelhock, whose best time was a disappointing 0.771s shy of Aiello. Both Winkelhock and fellow former BTCC champion Alain Menu, who ended up 11th, looked likely to threaten the top six early in the session before tailing off as time went on.

Jean Alesi will start ninth after a troubled session which saw him leave the road in a characteristic attempt to extract everything and more from his Mercedes CLK.

Persson Motorsport driver Peter Dumbreck, whose place at AMG was taken by Alesi at the start of the year, will line up 18th as he chases his first points in his 2001 Mercedes .

The qualifying race kicks off at 11.55 BST tomorrow morning, followed by the feature race at 13.30 BST.


Laurent Aiello (F) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m39.027s
Bernd Schneider (D) AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m39.233s
Christian Abt (D) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m39.355s
Mattias Ekström (S) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m39.449s
Martin Tomczyk (D) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m39.577s
Marcel Fässler (CH) AMG Mercedes-Bend CLK, 1m39.582s
Karl Wendlinger (CH) Abt-Audi TT-R, 1m39.774s
Joachim Winkelhock (D) Phoenix Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m39.798s
Jean Alesi (F) AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m39.817s
Manuel Reuter (D) Phoenix Opel Astra V8 Coupe, 1m39.820s
Alain Menu (CH) Euroteam Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m39.853s
Yves Olivier (B) Euroteam Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m39.864s
Timo Scheider (D) Holzer Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m39.948s
Uwe Alzen (D) AMG Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m39.949s
Thomas Jäger (D) Persson Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m40.305s
Bernd Maylander (D) Manthey Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m40.314s
Patrick Huisman (NL) Manthey Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m40.767s
Peter Dumbreck (GB) Persson Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m40.778s
Michael Bartels (D) Holzer Opel Astra V8 Coupé, 1m40.867s
Christijan Albers (NL) Rosberg Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m41.065s
Stefan Mücke (D) Rosberg Mercedes-Benz CLK, 1m41.145s