FIA GT qualifying: Rydell/Kox on pole

The Swede's time of 1m39.651s was almost a second faster than the Chrysler Viper of Sebastiann Bleekemolen, ensuring that Rydell and team mate Peter Kox, who won last time out in Austria, start Sunday's three-hour race in the best possible position.

"I'm quite happy with the car;" said Rydell. "It's better than when we started yesterday. It's also nice to see that the car is competitive here too, not just at the A1 Ring with its long straights."

Bleekemolen's Carsport Holland team shouldn't be too disappointed losing out on pole since its second Viper will start behind the Ferrari, after Mike Hezemans set the third fastest time of the session.

Christophe Bouchut and Jean-Phillipe Belloc, who wrapped up the title at Spa a month ago, are fourth on the grid in the Larbre Viper. Jean Pierre Jarier in the Team Art Viper is fifth, with the Lister Storm of Julian Bailey setting the sixth fastest time.

In the N-GTs, Freisinger Motorsport's Stephane Ortelli and Wolfgang Kaufmann was the class of the field, finishing two tenths faster than their nearest rivals.

R Rydell/P Kox Prodrive Allstars 1m39.651s
S Bleekemolen/M Bleekemolen Team Carsport Holland 1m40.474s
J Bleekemolen/M Hezemans Team Carsport Holland 1m40.867s
C Bouchut/J Belloc Larbre Competition 1m41.349s
F Lafon/J Jarier Team Art 1m43.451s
N Springer/J Bailey Lister Storm Racing 1m43.810s

N-GT
W Kaufmann/S Ortelli Freisinger Motorsport 1m44.433s