ROUNDS 19 & 20 PRACTICE AND QUALIFYING
Weather: sunny, with a dry track.
 PRACTICE
1 – LARINI AND CHEVROLET ON TOP
Nicola Larini set the fastest lap. The Chevrolet man flew
round the track in 2:33.465 followed by Rickard Rydell in
his SEAT - 0.198 seconds slower, and the BMW of Jörg
Müller 0.787 seconds off the best pace.
Championship leader, Dirk Müller improved on yesterday’s
times and achieved the fourth quickest lap. Out of the Alfa
Romeo drivers it was Farfus who was fastest with a lap in
2:34.679. Again, Tom Coronel was the best of the independent
field and 9th overall. Ford Hotfiel Sport’s Michael
Funke was 11th fastest.
The session had to be red flagged after Macanese driver Ao
Chi Hong crashed at the Dona Maria bend. Shortly after resuming,
Giovanardi repeated the events of yesterday and smashed into
a barrier. This time it was at the Paiol bend, the fastest
part of the circuit’s uphill section. “The brakes
locked and I went into the barrier. Perhaps it was a mistake
on my part and perhaps the track was slippery,” he said.
As for Andy Priaulx, he came back to pits well before the
end of the session due to a slow puncture.
PRACTICE 2 – PRIAULX AND COUTO FASTEST
Local man André Couto had his best practice session
so far and looked as though he had set the best time until
Andy Priaulx bettered it on his last lap. Priaulx’s
2:33.341 demoted the Alfa man to second by 0.223 seconds.
Gabriele Tarquini was also consistently fast throughout the
session and posted the third best time of 2:33.842. Nicola
Larini was fourth fastest in his Chevrolet Lacetti followed
by Jorg Müller, Antonio García, Duncan Huisman,
Dirk Müller and Augusto Farfus. All of the top eleven
drivers’ times were within just one second. Giovanardi
took part in the practice after the damage he obtained in
the earlier session was repaired. He posted the 13th best
time. Peter Terting crashed into the barriers at turn 16 and
returned to the pits. Alessandro Zanardi also made contact
with a wall but he managed to set the 11th fastest time overall.
Tom Coronel was again the fastest independent and 14th overall
in this session, however Simon Harrison and his Honda Integra
were close. Peter Scharmach was the best of the Asian Touring
Car drivers despite he also hitting a wall.
QUALIFYING – VALUABLE POLE FOR PRIAULX
Andy Priaulx will begin from pole position on Sunday, the
perfect position in his bid to become World Champion. His
time of 2:31.712 broke the previous Guia Race record by four
tenths; it was set on the opening lap and numerous periods
under red flag conditions meant nobody was able to challenge
it. André Couto claimed second position, 0.622 seconds
behind Priaulx. On the second row there will be a further
two Alfas driven by Augusto Farfus and Gabriele Tarquini,
providing the team manages to repair the latter that was involved
in a massive crash. The other title contenders, Dirk Müller
and Fabrizio Giovanardi are placed 6th and 9th respectively.
All three of Chevrolet’s drivers made it onto the top
ten. Nicola Larini had the best time of 2:32.808 placing him
5th for Sunday’s Race 1 while Alain Menu and Robert
Huff are 8th and 10th. Rickard Rydell set a time of 2:33.238
to place is SEAT 7th on the grid. Patrick Bernhardt set a
time of 2:36.338 which placed the Ford Hotfiel Sport driver
20th, three positions ahead of team-mate Michael Funke. Tom
Coronel led the independent pack from 13th position but starting
alongside him is another potential Independent trophy winner,
Giuseppe Cirò.
The session suffered many disruptions. Red flags were issued
after Peter Scharmach crashed coming into the uphill section
after the Melco Hairpin, his car stranded across the track.
Then, local driver Ao Chi Hong went wide at Fishermen’s
bend after eleven minutes. It was his first lap and the position
of his car meant that the red flags made another appearance.
The session was stopped for a third time due to a dramatic
collision between Taquini’s Alfa and Rydell’s
SEAT. Tarquini went straight ahead at turn 16 and Rydell,
unable to see, crashed straight into the back of him. The
impact of the crash meant the two cars were wedged between
the barriers. The Italian driver was hospitalized and underwent
X-ray examinations for an aching shoulder.
In the final few minutes there was an incident involving
Farfus and Paul Poon, which caused the red flags to come out
again, this time the session was not resumed. Simon Harrison
was another victim of this dramatic session, hitting the wall
after Turn 1.
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