EU: Series Valencia SC qualifying report

Harvey takes pole while Tarancon and Ilyas have best 2010 session.

Valencia, 25 June 2010. Jack Harvey (GB/Fortec Motorsports) will start both races in Valencia from pole. In race one the DAMS drivers, Javier Tarancon (ES) and Fahmi Ilyas (MY) will start from second and third on the grid, while in race two second is Robin Frijns (NL/Josef Kaufmann Racing) and third is Ilyas. Spanish BMW Junior driver, Carlos Sainz (Eurointernational), has kept his one hundred per cent record and again will be the highest placed Rookie on the grid in both races.

While the race is being held two months earlier than in previous years, the weather is still far from chilly. In free practice the respective air and track temperatures were 22 and 21 degrees Celsius, but by the time qualifying began these had gone up to 25 and 39. With this and rubber on the track from the Formula 1 cars came more grip so the pole time in qualifying was over a second and a half quicker than that set by Harvey in free practice.

In the session the first driver to break the one minute fourteen barrier was Frijns and he stayed fastest until the cars came in for new tyres. However, he is in a quandary as to why he was not able to keep this advantage and dropped down to fourth at the end of the session, explaining this also happened in free practice after he had changed tyres.

Pole Rounds 5 and 6: Jack Harvey (GB/Fortec Motorsports): "That was great having pole for both races. I think in the last five laps there was two tenths difference between all the laps, and I think there was still some more to come. The car is really good and that is five out of six poles. On a street circuit if you make a mistake it punishes you, and I was on the limit without being in the barriers. Also I had a really great car that allowed me to do that. As a driver that is all you can ask."

Second Round 5 Fifth Round 6: Javier Tarancon (ES/DAMS): "It was really better than this morning. On my first run the car was not so good in the rear when braking, so I could not brake late. However, after I stopped for tyres it was really good, however, I found some traffic. Overall I am happy but I think I could have done better. Anyway I am second and on the front row, which is my first time for that so I am happy. The team is really good here, as they were last year. We have a really good set-up so I think tomorrow we will be good in the race as our times are consistent."

Third Rounds 5 and 6: Fahmi Ilyas (MY/DAMS): "Qualifying went well, and free practice was also good, so we knew we had the pace in the car. On the second set I knew if I pushed a lot and found a clear lap I could do well. I was lucky as I came out of the pits and the track was clear. I just kept on pushing and pushing until the end. I am very happy with this third place, but on my last lap I caught up another car, braked a lot earlier than I was supposed to and lost one or two tenths. I am also happy with third as it is on the cleaner side of the track."

Top Rookie - Rounds 5 and 6: Carlos Sainz (ES/Eurointernational): "I had a very good free practice, with very positive results as I was third and it is the first time I have been here, so I didn't know the track at all. I was really happy, but what counts is qualifying so we had to forget about that. Now in qualifying I am quite upset, as I was confident and knew where I could gain some time, but I don't know why but the time in the second sector didn't work out. We are fastest in the first sector and the last sector, but in the mid sector we are missing more than half a second. We must look at the data and see what is happening there. "

The grid positions for race one are determined by each driver's quickest time in qualifying, while each driver's second quickest time is taken to set the grid for race two. The first of the 10 lap races round the 5.440 kilometre Valencia street circuit will be on Saturday at 09.45 and the second on Sunday at 08.30. All times are local CET.

-source: fbmw