German F3 showdown: Pantano under pressure
The destiny of the German Formula Three Championship remains in flux as only rank title outsider Alexander Muller managed to bag points in qualifying by taking pole for Saturday's race
Series leader Giorgio Pantano (KMS Dallara-Opel), who holds a 23-point advantage over Pierre Kaffer (Team HMS Dallara-Opel), could only qualify eighth and fourth for the two races which make up the Hockenheim finale. Kaffer lines up fourth and fifth, but blew a golden chance to take pole for Sunday's race with a last-gasp mistake on what would have been the fastest lap of the session.
Third placed Andre Lotterer (BSR Dallara-Opel), who is 32 points shy of Pantano, suffered a nightmare time and could only manage 16th and 10th places on the grid. Muller (Team Ghinzani Dallara-Mugen) bagged pole and an extra three points in session one but missed out by a matter of hundredths to Frank Diefenbacher (KTM Dallara-Opel) in the second period, which decides the grid for Sunday's event. Muller, who plans to test a Champ Car next month, is 34 points behind Pantano, with 40 points still on offer.
Pantano can clinch the championship in Saturday's race, which starts at 15:15 BST (16:15 local), but is under pressure having failed to seal the crown at the Nurburgring three weeks ago.
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