Qualifying: Alfas still on top

Giovanardi lapped his Alfa 156 Gta in 2m00.153s, 0.196s clear of Larini, the latter going off twice during the session and using an extra set of tyres.

"It's fantastic for everyone in the team," said Giovanardi of his pole, while Larini added: "We organised ourselves for some slipstreaming which seemed to work for Fabrizio but not for me, and then I went on to the grass a couple of times."

Rickard Rydell led the chasing pack for Volvo, the Swede third quickest in his S60.

"I'm very pleased with that," said Rydell. "We were over a second off the Alfas at Magny-Cours and now we're half a second off. We know we're not as quick as them on the straights, but I'm happy with the developments we have made to the car."

Tom Ferrier pulled out a superb last lap in his Dart-run Alfa to leap from eighth to fourth: "Things were getting a bit desperate, so I had to pull one out of the bag," he said.

Jorg Muller was the quickest BMW 320i in fifth place, but the Schnitzer driver admitted: "We have no chance against the Alfas at the moment, we've got to work harder."

The first of the two ETCC races at Silverstone on Sunday starts at 13.45 BST.


Fabrizio Giovanardi Team Nordauto Alfa Romeo 156 2m00.153s
Nicola Larini Team Nordauto Alfa Romeo 156 2m00.349s
Rickard Rydell Prodrive Volvo S60 2m00.693s
Tom Ferrier Dart Racing IP Alfa Romeo 156 2m01.150s
Jorg Muller Schnitzer BMW 320i 2m01.198s
Peter Kox Carly/Isert BMW 320i 2m01.265s
Dirk Muller Schnitzer BMW 320i 2m01.271s
Fredrik Ekblom RBM BMW 320i 2m01.424s
Paolo Ruberti AGS Alfa Romeo 156 2m00.708s
Tom Coronel Carly/Isert BMW 320i 2m01.829s