FIA GT: Wendlinger wins first pole

In the first qualifying session for tomorrow's second round race, backed by AUTOSPORT, it looked as though the Lister would take the advantage.

However, the combination of a good lap by the Austrian on soft race tyres, and a back-marker spoiling Bailey's fastest lap gave the fastest lap to the Viper, with a time of 1:49.266.

I was quite disappointed,' Bailey admitted. 'I could have gone one and a half seconds faster.'

The Hurtgen/Ortelli Roock Porsche set the third best time at the end of the session, using qualifying tyres. This was despite having lost a wheel early in the session, when Claudia Hurtgen was driving, which brought out the red flags for a time as the pit-lane entrance was partially blocked.

'You can't imagine how I was fighting,' Le Mans winner Ortelli said after his 1:50.637 lap.

'I can't be satisfied with third. We need to push hard and constantly improve the car."

Former BTCC driver Will Hoy, driving the Chamberlain Viper with Portuguese driver Ni Amorim and Swiss Toni Seiler, will start from fifth.

'I've only done one lap in the dry and two in the rain today - but it's a lovely car to drive in the wet.'

As for tomorrow's race, Hoy thinks the team has a good chance of a podium finish, but he said he will have to 'temper the normal BTCC aggression a little!'

The second Oreca Viper, with minor damper problems, and time constraints due to three drivers and only 45 minutes in a qualifying session, could only manage eighth, between Franz Konrad's Porsche and the all-Belgian GL-PK Viper.

The rain started at the same time as the second session, meaning that the only car to improve their times was the Freisinger Motorsport Porsche, third in the first round at Monza, who only completed one lap in the morning before having to change their engine.

With times significantly slower than in the morning, the teams worked on wet race set-ups, in case the bad weather continues for tomorrow's 500 mile race.