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Argentina WTCC: Catsburg takes provisional pole despite mistake

Polestar Cyan Racing's Nicky Catsburg has claimed pole position at Rio Hondo, WTCC's Argentinian venue, despite going off at the final corner in the one-lap shootout.

Nicky Catsburg, Polestar Cyan Racing, Volvo S60 Polestar

Nicky Catsburg, Polestar Cyan Racing, Volvo S60 Polestar

FIA WTCC

Polesitter Nicky Catsburg, Polestar Cyan Racing, Volvo S60 Polestar
John Filippi, Sébastien Loeb Racing, Citroën C-Elysée WTCC
Nicky Catsburg, Thed Björk, Nestor Girolami, Polestar Cyan Racing, Volvo S60 Polestar after MAC3 qualifying
Nicky Catsburg, Thed Björk, Nestor Girolami, Polestar Cyan Racing, Volvo S60 Polestar during MAC3 qualifying
Nicky Catsburg, Polestar Cyan Racing, Volvo S60 Polestar

The Dutchman was fastest of all in the shootout, almost replicating his Qualifying 2 time of 1m43.085s, despite making a mistake at the final corner and throwing his Volvo off the circuit, crossing the timing beam as he rejoined the track.

While he is set to start the main race from pole, the Dutchman’s time is under investigation by the stewards after his transgression at the final turn.

Catsburg qualified ahead of the two factory Hondas of Norbert Michelisz and championship leader Tiago Monteiro, while Campos Racing Chevrolet's Esteban Guerrieri was an impressive fourth fastest at his home track, outqualifying  Thed Bjork.

In Qualifying 2, Catsburg had gone fastest in the final moments ahead of Michelisz, with the two drivers proving to be the pacesetters this weekend. Meanwhile, the other local star Nestor Girolami just missed out on a chance to take part in the top five

Meanwhile, the other local star Nestor Girolami just missed out on a chance to take part in the top five shootout after going sixth quickest in his Volvo.

Tom Coronel missed out on a chance of taking the reverse-grid pole for Race 1, after struggling with tyre rub on the front-left of his Chevrolet. The two French drivers Yann Ehrlacher and John Filippi diced it out for tenth, with Ehrlacher coming out on top and securing the reversed pole in his RC Motorsport Lada, with Filippi forced to start both races tomorrow from 11th in his Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen.

The two French drivers Yann Ehrlacher and John Filippi diced it out for 10th, with Ehrlacher coming out on top and securing the reverse-grid pole in his RC Motorsport Lada.

A big name to fall in the earlier part of qualifying was Munnich Motorsport’s Rob Huff. The Citroen driver was sitting in the pits with brake issues when some last-minute improvements came from the Honda of Ryo Michigami, whose new engine had just been fitted, the Volvo of Girolami and the Chevrolet of Tom Coronel, with the

The Citroen driver was sitting in the pits with brake issues, and will be forced to start from 12th in Race 1 and 13th in Race 2.

Ehrlacher will start the first race from pole ahead of Tom Chilton’s Sebastien Loeb Racing Citroen, as ninth-placed Ryo Michigami serves a grid-drop penalty for an engine change.

Neil Hudson/TouringCarTimes

Q3 Results:

ClaDriverChassisTimeGap
1 netherlands Nicky Catsburg  Volvo 1'43.088  
2 hungary Norbert Michelisz  Honda 1'43.272 0.184
3 portugal Tiago Monteiro  Honda 1'43.479 0.391
4 argentina Esteban Guerrieri  Chevrolet 1'43.704 0.616
5 sweden Thed Björk  Volvo 1'43.715 0.627

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