Huff takes Zolder WTCC pole
Rob Huff led a Chevrolet lockout of the front row in World Touring Car Championship qualifying at Zolder today
The Briton's 1m38.458s lap proved beyond the reach of his rivals, with team-mate Alain Menu best of the rest courtesy of a late flying lap that left him just 0.14s short.
It could easily have been a Chevrolet 1-2-3 when reigning champion Yvan Muller set out on his final run with a clear track ahead, but his hopes were dashed when he ran wide at the exit of Turn 4.
SUNRED SEAT driver Gabriele Tarquini, who was right behind Muller, attempted to capitalise by passing the Cruze and stringing together three strong sectors, but his brief claim to second was ended by Menu a few moments later.
Tiago Monteiro, who headed the opening qualifying session, will start from fifth in the SUNRED SEAT alongside the Englster BMW of Kristian Poulsen, with Norbert Michelisz, Franz Engstler, Fredy Barth and Mehdi Bennani rounding out the top 10.
High-profile absentees from Q2 included Tom Coronel, who finished 11th, and this morning's stand-out Michel Nykjaer, whose afternoon came to an early end when he clipped a barrier at the chicane in the opening minutes of Q1 and was unable to continue.
Race one grid: Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Rob Huff Chevrolet 1m38.458s 2. Alain Menu Chevrolet 1m38.598s + 0.140s 3. Gabriele Tarquini SUNRED SEAT 1m38.723s + 0.265s 4. Yvan Muller Chevrolet 1m38.738s + 0.280s 5. Tiago Monteiro SUNRED SEAT 1m38.907s + 0.449s 6. Kristian Poulsen Engstler BMW 1m39.398s + 0.940s 7. Norbert Michelisz Zengo-Dension BMW 1m39.450s + 0.992s 8. Franz Engstler Engstler BMW 1m39.962s + 1.504s 9. Fredy Barth SUNRED SEAT 1m40.015s + 1.557s 10. Mehdi Bennani Proteam BMW 1m40.438s + 1.980s 11. Tom Coronel ROAL BMW 1m39.680s (Q1) 12. Pepe Oriola SUNRED SEAT 1m39.780s (Q1) 13. Robert Dahlgren Polestar Volvo 1m39.807s (Q1) 14. Darryl O'Young bamboo Chevrolet 1m39.931s (Q1) 15. Aleksei Dudukalo SUNRED SEAT 1m40.110s (Q1) 16. Marchy Lee KK BMW 1m40.406s (Q1) 17. Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo Chevrolet 1m41.712s (Q1) 18. Urs Sonderegger Wiechers BMW 1m43.537s (Q1) 19. Fabio Fabiani Proteam BMW 1m44.820s (Q1) 20. Michel Nykjaer SUNRED SEAT (Q1) 21. Javier Villa Proteam BMW (Q1) Race two grid: Pos Driver Team/Car 1. Fredy Barth SUNRED SEAT 2. Franz Engstler Engstler BMW 3. Gabriele Tarquini SUNRED SEAT 4. Norbert Michelisz Zengo-Dension BMW 5. Rob Huff Chevrolet 6. Alain Menu Chevrolet 7. Yvan Muller Chevrolet 8. Mehdi Bennani Proteam BMW 9. Kristian Poulsen Engstler BMW 10. Tiago Monteiro SUNRED SEAT 11. Tom Coronel ROAL BMW 12. Pepe Oriola SUNRED SEAT 13. Robert Dahlgren Polestar Volvo 14. Darryl O'Young bamboo Chevrolet 15. Aleksei Dudukalo SUNRED SEAT 16. Marchy Lee KK BMW 17. Yukinori Taniguchi bamboo Chevrolet 18. Urs Sonderegger Wiechers BMW 19. Fabio Fabiani Proteam BMW 20. Michel Nykjaer SUNRED SEAT 21. Javier Villa Proteam BMW Race one: Q2 top 10 then Q1 results from 11th Race two: Q1 results with top 10 reversed
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