Catalunya: Series qualifying report

Guerrieri in pole position, but not in the SuperPole

Rain disrupted the final qualifying session of the season. After Julien Jousse (Tech 1 Racing), Robert Wickens (Carlin Motorsport) and Marco Bonanomi (Red Devil Team Comtec) crashed out, as well as increasingly difficult conditions, the SuperPole was interrupted the Race Director before any of the drivers could set any times. Esteban Guerrieri (Ultimate Signature), was the fastest driver of the two qualifying groups, who also took the pole position.

Group A

The track was wet so drivers brought out their rain tyres. Charles Pic (Tech 1 Motorsport) made an unfortunate start to the session, crashing off on his lap, meaning the red flag had to be shown. That was the end of the session for the Frenchman who will not be participating in the SuperPole.

The session eventually got back underway with fourteen minutes remaining. Bertrand Baguette (International Draco Racing) moved in first position ahead of Esteban Guerrieri. The two drivers improved and changed positions. Guerrieri was now in the lead with a lap time of 1'53''648. The fight for third place was not yet decided; James Walker (Fortec Motorsport) finally gained the upper hand over Marco Bonanomi.

In sixth place, Sergey Afanasiev (KTR) crashed out at the end of the session. As the rules stipulate, his best time was disqualified however the Russian still retained sixth place, and with it the SuperPole.

Group B

The track conditions remained difficult. Salvador Duran (Interwetten.com Racing) and Miguel Molina (Prema Powerteam) immediately took control of this session. With a lap time of 1'53''801, Duran was comfortably in the lead ahead of the two Prema Powerteam cars, with Miguel Molina ahead of Alvaro Barba. Barba made a made a mistake at the end of the session. With his best time disqualified, the Spaniard dropped from third to fifth place.

Several drivers improved their performance the moment the chequered flag was waved. Mikhail Aleshin (Carlin Motorsport) moved into third place ahead of Fairuz Fauzy (Fortec Motorsport) and Robert Wickens (Carlin Motorsport). Fabio Carbone (Ultimate Siganture) was the last driver to qualify for the SuperPole, whilst Alvaro Barba was left with seventh place after crashing out.

SuperPole

The twelve SuperPole drivers went into action under a heavy downpour. The session was soon interrupted as Julien Jousse and Robert Wickens crashed off the track.

The session eventually got back underway, but the red flag was brought out again after Marco Bonanomi crashed off the track, even though no-one had completed a fast lap yet. The Race Director decided against starting the final SuperPole session over again.

Pole position was therefore handed to Esteban Guerrieri, the fastest driver of the two qualifying sessions, and the qualifying points will awarded group by group. Salvador Duran, the quickest driver in group B also pocketed four points.

According to Esteban Guerrieri, "It proved useful to attack from this morning. I pushed things to the limit and it paid off. You should always give it your best. The decision to stop the SuperPole was inevitable. I'm happy to have taken my second pole position this season and I'm hoping to make my first victory in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series."

-credit: wsbyrenault.com