Biagi leads Dinamic BMW 1-2 in Superstars qualifying at Mugello

Having led the way for the first 10 minutes of the half-hour session, Biagi found himself shuffled down the order thanks to quick laps from the likes of Andrea Larini, Johnny Herbert and Camilo Zurcher. He then fired out an impossibly fast 1m51.170s lap, which was quickly deleted when he was found guilty of not respecting the track limits.

But with just two minutes to go Biagi got it right, a 1m57.450s putting him back on top and on the way to securing pole position for Sunday's first race.

Biagi's team-mate Sandro Bettini left it even later. It was not until the last minute of the session that the Mugello local fired from nowhere to second place with an impressive 1m57.492s.

However, it was Zurcher (Romeo Ferraris Mercedes) who was the real surprise of the session. Having not even been fast enough to feature in the top 10 throughout practice, the series debutant looked set for pole position before the late charge from the BMW pair.

While he therefore missed out on a fairytale pole, Zurcher will share the second row with the vastly more experienced Johnny Herbert (Swiss Team Maserati).

Gianni Morbidelli abated any fears that the restricted Audi RS5 would be uncompetitive by setting the fifth fastest time, less then three tenths slower than Biagi's benchmark. His team-mate Johan Kristoffersson was only another tenth behind, with Larini (Romeo Ferraris Mercedes) splitting the two RS5s.

Stefano Gabellini made sure there were three Dinamic BMWs in the top 10 with the eighth fastest time, ahead of Paolo Meloni (W&D Racing BMW) and Tonio Liuzzi (CAAL Racing Mercedes).

Pos  Driver                 Team/Car           Time       Gap
 1.  Thomas Biagi           Dinamic BMW        1m57.450s
 2.  Sandro Bettini         Dinamic BMW        1m57.492s  + 0.042s
 3.  Camilo Zurcher         Romeo Mercedes     1m57.609s  + 0.159s
 4.  Johnny Herbert         Swiss Maserati     1m57.678s  + 0.228s
 5.  Gianni Morbidelli      Audi Italia        1m57.735s  + 0.285s
 6.  Andrea Larini          Romeo Mercedes     1m57.788s  + 0.338s
 7.  Johan Kristoffersson   KMS Audi           1m57.881s  + 0.431s
 8.  Stefano Gabellini      Dinamic BMW        1m57.971s  + 0.521s
 9.  Paolo Meloni           W&D BMW            1m58.082s  + 0.632s
10.  Tonio Liuzzi           CAAL Mercedes      1m58.244s  + 0.794s
11.  Max Pigoli             Ferlito Jaguar     1m58.403s  + 0.953s
12.  Max Mugelli            CAAL Mercedes      1m58.822s  + 1.372s
13.  Ananda Mikola          Roma Mercedes      1m58.951s  + 1.501s
14.  Francesco Sini         Solaris Chevrolet  1m58.969s  + 1.519s
15.  Thomas Schoffler       MTM Audi           1m59.377s  + 1.927s
16.  Nico Caldarola         Roma Mercedes      1m59.433s  + 1.983s
17.  Mauro Cesari           Swiss Maserati     1m59.595s  + 2.145s
18.  Andrea Boffo           Ferlito Jaguar     1m59.926s  + 2.476s
19.  Walter Meloni          W&D BMW            2m00.073s  + 2.623s
20.  Gianni Giudici         Giudici BMW        2m00.494s  + 3.044s
21.  Francesco Ascani       Todi BMW           2m00.767s  + 3.317s
22.  Leonardo Baccarelli    Todi BMW           2m02.145s  + 4.695s
23.  Marco Fumagalli        Giudici BMW        2m02.713s  + 5.263s