Irvine comes a close second

But he minimised the damage with a blistering performance to start the race alongside Mika Hakkinen on the front row.

Irvine did not quite match world champion Hakkinen's pace, but at least he put the other McLaren behind him for a race Damon Hill has said could decide the championship.

Another massive dose of points for Irvine here could be enough to see him take the world title over the final five races according to Hill.

'I reckon I could potentially have been in the 1m 17s but I picked up a little bit of understeer and lost time,' said Irvine.

'This was out best chance of the year to get on pole,' he admitted.

With the first part of his challenge completed Irvine now faces the task of winning one of the hardest races of the season, where overtaking is almost impossible.

'The start is very important and so is strategy. If I don't beat Mika away then I've got to beat him on strategy,' he said.

'For sure I can win. I've got a better chance of winning here than any race this season. The car is capable of it and I am capable of winning too but that doesn't mean we will.'

Irvine also has the extra hurdle of starting the race from the dirty side of the track.

'I've made great starts both sides of the grid so we'll see tomorrow,' he said. 'Qualifying was close and the race will be even closer.'