Priaulx beats Muller to pole
Reigning champion Andy Priaulx (RPM BMW) snatched pole position for the World Touring Car Championship season opener with only a minute remaining at Monza
"It's a long season, so we can't get too excited," said Priaulx, "but the team did a great job."
Priaulx had also been fastest in the final free practice session, but suffered a scare in the closing moments when an electrical problem caused a minor fire inside his car. He was taken to the medical centre where it was confirmed that he had suffered no ill effects.
For most of the half hour session series newcomer Yvan Muller (ORECA SEAT) had occupied the top spot, despite having to pit for mechanical attention after just four laps.
"We didn't expect this position on our debut," Muller admitted. "I was on pole for a long time, but I had to stay in the pits for a long time because we had a problem on the car."
Augusto Farfus will start third in his N-Technology Alfa Romeo 156.
Emanuele Naspetti was the top Independent runner in 14th overall on the closely-matched grid, where the top 15 cars all qualified within a second despite the length of the circuit.
Qualifying times:
Pos Driver Make Time 1. Andy Priaulx BMW 2:00.254 2. Yvan Muller SEAT + 0.106 3. Augusto Farfus Alfa Romeo + 0.125 4. Dirk Muller BMW + 0.307 5. Alex Zanardi BMW + 0.451 6. James Thompson SEAT + 0.482 7. Gianni Morbidelli Alfa Romeo + 0.555 8. Rickard Rydell SEAT + 0.565 9. Gabriele Tarquini SEAT + 0.684 10. Jorg Muller BMW + 0.763 11. Jordi Gene SEAT + 0.784 12. Marcel Costa BMW + 0.787 13. Salvatore Tavano Alfa Romeo + 0.851 14. Emanuele Naspetti BMW + 0.918 15. Tom Coronel SEAT + 0.952 16. Robert Huff Chevrolet + 1.098 17. Nicola Larini Chevrolet + 1.100 18. Luca Rangoni BMW + 1.339 19. Alain Menu Chevrolet + 1.361 20. Simone Iacone BMW + 1.363 21. Pierre-Yves Corthals Honda + 1.453 22. Alessandro Balzan Alfa Romeo + 1.630 23. Ryan Sharp Honda + 1.866 24. Stefano d'Aste BMW + 1.978 25. Jens Edman Peugeot + 2.004 26. Emmet O'Brien BMW + 2.430 27. Stefano Valli BMW + 2.517 28. Elio Marchetti Alfa Romeo + 2.688 29. Maurizio Ceresoli SEAT + 2.800 30. Jiri Janak Alfa Romeo + 3.087 31. Riccardo Romagnoli Alfa Romeo + 3.135 32. Diego Romanini BMW + 3.587 33. Roberto Colciago SEAT + 3.698 34. Davide Roda SEAT + 4.304 35. Peter Terting SEAT + 5.313
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