May 01, 2004
Running order (based in reversed order from 2004 Austrian Grand Prix Race)

Group 1 (5 cars) - Liolias, Ponissi, Fretter, Loram, Maple

Group 2 (5 cars) - Wagner, Aparicio, Goodley, McConkey, Forasberger

Group 3 (6 cars) - Brown, Lock, Harding, Sleight, Mihailovic, Irisarri

Group 4 (6 cars) - Loukasmäki, Koski, Elencevski, Ryong, Jakonen, Whiteman

Intro:

Hello and welcome to follow San Marino Grand Prix qualifying session. This could be last time we see F1-cars at famous Imola track. Track facilities are getting old and can't compete against most modern tracks. Other reason is track layout, races can be boring as track doesn't have good overtaking place as latest tracks like Sepang or A1-ring has. After 3 races Scott Whiteman leads the champ by maximum points. Mikko Jakonen is 8 points behind after being 3rd at season opener and after that twice 2nd. Steve Elencevski holds 3rd place with 16 points.

Lap around the track:

While Marek Liolias makes his outlap to open this years San Marino Qualifying session we could take a look to the track again. Start/Finish straight is quite short on this track and as it turns slightly to left it's very hard to get inside on that braking place, that would be only true overtaking place on this track, but the left hander makes it almost impossible. Speed gets to 300kph and hard on the brakes to Tamburello, first left hander is taken in 2nd or 3rd gear about 120-130kph. Up the gears through right and again left hand corners to short straight. Up the gears and close to 300kph again, down one gear on first left hand corner of Villeneuve chicane. Then hard on brakes and down few gears more to right hand part. Short straight and hard on the brakes again to 2nd gear hairpin Tosa. This is 2nd overtaking place if driver in front makes small mistake at Villeneuve, but the straight before Tosa is so short it's hard to shoot into inside there either. Up the hill and over the crest slightly turning to right. Piratella, left hander where uphill changes to downhill, taken in 4th gear and around 200khp. Down the hill to Acque Minerali. This is the trickiest corner on this track. Very quick entry and hard on brakes to 2nd gear part tight uphill right hander where carrying the speed is vital for the uphill part heading down to Variante Alta. Good line over the curbs is important here. Variante Alta is taken in 3rd or 4th gear and about 150kph. Good line through chicane is vital for good speed heading down to Rivazza. Down the hill to Rivazza corners, speed is up to 300kph again and down to 2nd or 3rd gear for the first left hander. Short straight and 2nd Rivazza again in 2nd or 3rd gear. Then flat out through Variante Bassa to Traguardo chicane. Hard over the curbs there. This chicane is taken in 2nd gear. Carrying the speed through this chicane is also important as you are back on the start/finish straight and start yet another lap.

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Group 1:

Liolias

Puma F1

Marek Liolias opens this years San Marino Grand Prix Qualifying session. Liolias who missed Austrian Grand Prix starts his qualifying lap. David Cummings who replaced Liolias at Austrian Grand Prix didn't have very successful race as his car found to have illegal engine mapping and was disqualified from race results. But that's in the past as Liolias takes the Tosa corner nice and cleanly and completes 1st sector 28.398. Before qualifying started general talks at the pitlane suggested, that low 27 on first sector would be good time and fastest might go just under. We will see what happens later during qualifying when hot shots like Whiteman and Elencevski makes their qualifying runs. Liolias goes through Acque Minerali and accelerates the uphill section to Variante Alta, these are the sections where Puma f1 drivers loose out due low BHP on their Porsche engines. Over the curbs as he completes 2nd sector in time of 55.616. Talks at the pitlane suggested times to 2nd sector to low to mid 53's, so Liolias would be roughly 2 seconds down on those times, but we will see what the fastest drivers can do. Through tricky Rivazza and Traguardo chicane nice and cleanly and over the line and his time is 1:25.122 and naturally he takes p1 at this point.

Liolias Finish Line 1

1:25.122

Ponissi

Woods Racing

Next up is Willy Ponissi on Woods Racing Toyota. Ponissi failed to get a result from Austrian Grand Prix due he didn't make it from pitlane to the actual race. But those are in the past and Willy starts his flying lap. Liolias in front set the target to 28.398 what can Ponissi do? Through Tosa corner he goes and time is 28.950, that's 0.552 seconds slower than Liolias did. Ponissi is now approaching Acque Minerali, place where you can loose a lot of time if setup isn't right because it's important to carry out good exit speed for the uphill section before Variante Alta. Ponissi goes through Variante Alta without mistakes and completes the 2nd sector and time is 57.042. He is now just over 1.4 seconds behind Liolias, so Liolias will hold on the p1 after Ponissi's run. Ponissi completes the lap in time of 1:27.147 and is 2 seconds slower than Liolias.

Ponissi Finish Line 2

1:27.147 +2.025

Fretter

Phoenix F1

Next car on track is Phoenix F1 car driver by Adam Fretter. The Phoenix F1 team have been working hard to get their drivers higher up the race ladder for San Marino after a bit disappointing start to their season. Can Fretter turn this around at San Marino? But where is Fretter? Fretter isn't at the track, some how I missed it, but as we all can see, there is no Phoenix car on the track. This is disaster for Phoenix team and Andy Graydon at the pitwall isn't looking happy, not at all. Their 2nd driver, Antonio Irisarri will be 7th last driver, we just need to hope he makes it to the track.

Loram

EIRE

So with Fretter missing, next car should be EIRE Jaguar and Ross Loram is behind the wheel. Loram's team mate Scott Whiteman has won first 3 races of the season and we all are waiting when Loram gets his season really going, he has done some good results, but I'm sure everybody is waiting a bit better results from him as the car is capable for winning. First sector 27.504 that's massive 0.894 seconds faster than Liolias time. On 2nd sector the Jaguar power should really pull out the advantage compared to Porsche engine, as long as Loram gets the Acque Minerali right he should set new record to 2nd sector as well. 54.407 yes he does, and he is now 1.209 seconds in front of Liolias time. He was just over 3 tenths quicker on 2nd sector than Liolias. Now Loram is through Rivazza and heads down to Traguardo chicane, over the curbs and over the line he goes. Lap time 1:23.631 is 1.491 seconds faster than Liolias time and Loram takes P1.

Loram Finish Line 1

1:23.631 -1.491

Maple

JTM

Fifth and final car on this 1st group is JTM car driver by Matt Maple. Maple has had very disappointing almost disastrous start for his 2004 campaign. Maple was one of the favorites to fight the top places on qualifyings and races but so far the Briton haven't had much luck. He was 5th at Melbourne race but after that 2 DNF's and JTM drivers have been out paced by FinOz cars. JTM uses Ferrari works engine where FinOz uses older development level customer version. But there are still many races to go and time for JTM drivers to show which team is Ferrari number 1 team. Meanwhile Maple is already at the Tosa corner and completes 1st sector. Loram set the time of 27.504 there and Maple goes under by 0.196 seconds and new sector record is 27.308. Up the hill to Piratella and now downhill to Acque Minerali and up the hill again to Variante Alta. Over the curbs and he completes 2nd sector. He has gained a lot of time to Loram and he is now 0.808 seconds in front, good stuff from Matt. Hard on the brakes on downhill Rivazza, flat out through Variante Bassa and down the gears to Traguardo chicane. Maple will take p1 from Loram as he crosses the line in time of 1:21.988 and he is the first driver to go under 1:22 barrier.

Maple Finish Line 1

1:21.988 -1.643

After first group where should have been 5 cars but as Fretter missed his spot only 4 drivers have time, Maple leads, Loram is 2nd while Liolias and Ponissi are next up. Next group of five cars will be Wagner, Aparicio, Goodley, McConkey and Forasberger, but before that we will have a short break? don't go away!

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Group 2:

Welcome back to follow the live coverage of the F1VWC San Marino Grand Prix qualifying where 2nd group is bout to start their qualifying runs and first car is Puma F1 driver Andreas Wagner whos team mate is currently 3rd.

Wagner

Puma F1

Andreas Wagner starts his flying lap. Maple set 1st sector record, 27.308. Soon we will find out what the Swiss driver can do. 27.309! Wow this is impressive stuff from Wagner only one thousands of a seconds behind Maple. Car was looking to be very well balanced and Wagner had the attack spot on, not over doing it, just let the car do the work and this is the result, but can he hold on at 2nd sector as well? 53.232 I can't believe it, that's new sector record, 25.923 and he leads Maple by 0.367 seconds. Down to Rivazza, good line there, Puma car just looks to be doing all the work and Wagner is just driving it superbly into corners, this is very impressive stuff from him. Now through Traguardo without problems and over the line he goes, can he take P1 from Maple? YES HE CAN! 1:21.561, he is 0.427 seconds faster than Maple and he takes P1. Team boss Cummings can't believe it and almost fells down from pit wall from his chair. Whole Puma team mechanics are cheering at the pit box. This was very impressive stuff from Wagner.

Wagner Finish Line 1

1:21.561 -0.427

Aparicio

Simsoa

Now with surprise leader Wagner holding the p1 next driver is Javier Aparicio driving Simsoa car, can he make such surprise as Wagner just did? 1st sector time is 27.921 he is just over 6 tenths behind Wagner, so looks like Aparicio can't pull out lap like Wagner just did. Trough Variante Alta and he completes 2nd sector in time of 54.177 and he is now 0.945 seconds off Wagners time but he is faster than Loram was, so this could be 3rd place for him at the moment. Hard over the curbs on last chicane and he completes his qual lap and time is 1:22.669, and he goes 3rd 1.1 seconds slower than Wagner.

Aparicio Finish Line 3

1:22.669 +1.108

Goodley

Woods Racing

Now on track is Chris Goodley on 2nd of Woods Racing Toyota's. Goodley's team mate Ponissi did lap time of 1:27.147. 1st sector for Goodley is 27.503, that's pretty good as he is only 0.194 seconds behind Wagner. Maple still holds on the sector record as he was 1/1000th of a second quicker than Wagner on 1st sector. 2nd sector wasn't so strong for Goodley as he trails Wagner now by 1.092 seconds. Goodley's time 54.324 sets him between Aparicio and Loram. Aparicio is currently holding 3rd place and Loram is 4th. Over the line and lap time is 1:23.030 and Goodley goes to 4th place in front of Loram. Goodley beat his team mate Ponissi by 4.1 seconds. There is quite big gap also between the Puma F1 drivers Liolias time 1:25.122 is 3.561 seconds slower than leader Wagner did. This could also different tactics, only those drivers and their teams knows, we have to wait till race to find out.

Goodley Finish Line 4

1:23.030 +1.469

McConkey

MMC Racing

Still 2 to go on this group, McConkey and Forasberger. Ryan McConkey hasn't shown the speed what he and MMC Racing car had over the pre-season testing and again last week at Monza tests where McConkey was 2nd quickest on day 1 and fastest on 2nd test day before handing the MMC outfit to teams other drivers. McConkey completes the 1st sector and time 27.544 is quite good, 0.235 seconds off Wagners pace. MMC Racing is using BMW engines and it's believed that in that engine should be very close to Honda's leading BHP figures around 860 where Wagner and Porsche engines are down at about 815 BHP at the moment. Anyway McConkey is through Variante Alta and completes 2nd sector in time of 53.934, he has lost few tenths more and is now 0.702 seconds down on Wagner's time, this could be p3 from McConkey if he can hold on. Hard on the brakes at Rivazza? oh he locks up the left front tire and goes wide, over the curb and slightly to gravel, but he actually gets very quick line from there as he shoot into 2nd part of Rivazza and rockets out the Rivazza complex to short straight through Variante Bassa down to Traguardo chicane. Over the curbs and over the line 1:22.193, he was very quick on last sector and goes 3rd. But now I'm not sure what does judges say about that line at Rivazza, that kinda bends the rules where should keep the car between the white lines and as he gained speed through 2nd part of Rivazza. We have to wait and see what happens, at the moment McConkey goes 3rd.

McConkey Finish Line 3

1:22.193 +0.632

Forausberger

MMRT

Cristian Forausberger and MMRT Mercedes will be last driver on this 2nd group. 1st sector 27.851 Forausberger have been 15th, 20th and 14th at qualifying so far and his 1st sector which is half a seconds off Wagner's sector time doesn't promise right the top places for him at the San Marino grid either. Forausberger approach Acque Minerali corner, hard on brakes? oh he hit's the inside curb on wrong angle and back end just steps out, BIG slide there Cristian! That maybe aint the quickest line there but that one will be shown in slow motion several times I think. Let's see how much that did cost him. 2nd sector time 55.029 and he is nearly 1.8 seconds off Wagner's time that mistake was costly. He just needs to keep his head cool and forget that mistake and not try to make the lost time back as normally it just costs you more when you try to go too fast. No mistakes on Rivazza nor Traguardo and over the line he goes. Lap time 1:24.476 is 2.9 seconds off Wagner's pole time and puts Forausberger to 7th place at the moment.

Forausberger Finish Line 7

1:24.476 +2.915

This was 2nd group and total of 9 drivers have done their qualifying run so far. Order is Wagner, yes you heard it right Puma F1 driver Andreas Wagner is leading at the moment, Matt Maple is 2nd and Ryan McConkey is holding 3rd place, but McConkey could lose that place due his line at Rivazza corner. Aparicio, Goodley, Loram, Forausberger, Liolias and Ponissi makes the top-9. We will be right back after this short break.

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Group 3:

Welcome back and during the break official source from pitlane told us that McConkey indeed will lose his lap time due his line through Rivazza corner. So the order is Wagner, Maple, Aparicio, Goodley, Loram, Forausberger, Liolias and Ponissi. McConkey will be disqualified and Fretter didn't make it to the track at all.

3rd group, six cars, Brown, Lock, Harding, Sleight, Mihailovic and Irisarri

Brown

Simsoa

David Brown and 2nd Simsoa car opens the 3rd group laps. Brown's teammate Aparicio is currently 4th 1.1 seconds behind Wagner's superb lap. In earlier qualifyings Brown have been slightly faster than Aparicio so what can he do now? 1st split 27.707 that's 4 tenths slower than Wagner did, but beats Aparicio's time by 0.2 of a second. Now into 2nd sector, Wagner did sector time of 25.923 and Brown stops the clock at time of 53.874 that means his sector time was 26.167 and he is now 0.642 seconds off Wagner's pole time and now 3 tenths quicker than Aparicio. Through Traguardo and over the line, Brown goes 3rd, 1:22.646 that's 1.085 seconds off Wagner's pole but he beats Aparicio, not much, but by 0.023 seconds. Brown didn't have so good last sector as he nearly lost his advantage what was 3 tenths to Aparicio.

Brown Finish Line 3

1:22.646 +1.085

Lock

JTM

Toby Lock, 8th, 7th and 10th places so far from qualifyings. Team mate Maple have been slightly quicker than Lock in earlier sessions. Maple is currently on 2nd place. 1st sector 27.514, he is 0.2 seconds off Wagner's time and Maple holds the sector record still. Hard over the Variante Alta curbs and Lock's 2nd sector time is 53.818, he lost 4 tenths more and is now nearly 6 tenths off Wagner's time there. Gap to Maple remains nearly in the same and is just over 2 tenths. Lock could challenge Brown's 3rd place. Over the line and Lock goes 3rd 1:22.396 and just over 8 tenths off the pole time. So Wagner, Maple and Lock is currently top-3.

Lock Finish Line 3

1:22.396 +0.835

Harding

SCUM

Peter Harding and first of SCUM cars is next up. 11th, 21st and 13th places so far. 1st sector time is 28.065, that's already over 0.7 seconds slower than Wagner's time, doesn't look too god for Harding if he can't find some speed on the remaining of the lap. 2nd sector time 54.787 he has lost 8 tenths more and is now 1.555 seconds off Wagner's time, he is between Loram and Forausberger with that sector time. Forausberger currently holds 8th place. Trough Rivazza without problems and over the line he goes, 1:24.057 that's good for 8th place. 2.5 seconds off the pole time. He lost quite much on every sector. Maybe he was running on heavy car?

Harding Finish Line 8

1:24.057 +2.496

Sleight

MMC Racing

Next up is Paul Sleight and 2nd of MMC Racing cars. Sleight's team mate Ryan McConkey did good lap but found out soon that he would be disqualified due his line at Rivazza corners. Can Sleight match McConkey's lap time, while holding it on the track. 1st sector 27.522 that's a bit quicker than McConkey did and few tenths off Wagner's time. 2nd sector 53.237! he makes new sector record to 2nd sector and hunts down Wagner's advantage down to 0.005 of a second! Anything can happen on last sector. Rivazza? nice and clean there, and now to Traguardo, over the curbs and over the line, can he take P1 from Wagner? NO, Sleight goes to 2nd 0.076 seconds, that's not much, but Puma F1 driver still holds the pole position. Sleight is now 2nd and Maple is now pushed into 3rd place.

Sleight Finish Line 2

1:21.637 +0.076

Mihailovic

MMRT

Miodrag Mihailovic 2nd of MMRT cars, team mate Forausberger had huge slide at Acque Minerali and holds 10th at the moment. 1st sector to Mihailovic is 27.965 and he has lost already over 6 tenths to Wagner and Forausberger was slightly faster there too. Now into 2nd sector very tricky corner Acque Minerali, he makes it clean and accelerates up the hill to Variante Alta. Over the curbs and over the line to complete 2nd sector, time is 54.803 and it's 1.6 seconds to Wagner, but he is now 2 tenths quicker than Forausberger was. Over the line and Mihailovic goes to 8th just over 2 seconds off pole time. Mihailovic's last sector was 7 tenths quicker than Forausberger did.

Mihailovic Finish Line 8

1:23.574 +2.013

Irisarri

Phoenix F1

2nd Phoenix F1 driver is bout to start his qualifying run. Antonio Irisarri is behind the wheel, his team mate Adam Fretter didn't make it to the track at all and Phoenix team success is now only in Irisarri's hands. 1st sector for Irisarri, 27.649 and he is over 3 tenths behind Wagner, but if he can hold on and keep the gap in under 1 seconds he can challenge Lock and Brown, Lock is currently on 4th place. 2nd sector 53.368! He has closed the gap to Wagner down to 0.136 seconds, very good 2nd sector for Irisarri, what can he do on last sector, can he take pole away from Puma F1 driver? Through Rivazza and down to Traguardo, attacking hard the curbs and over the line he goes?. Oh 2nd! Very very close, but didn't quite make it, gap for Wagner is only 0.012 seconds! And Wagner holds on the p1. Irisarri had good 2nd and final sectors, but lost too much on 1st sector. Top-3 is Wagner, Irisarri and Sleight all in 0.072 seconds, couldn't be much closer than this.

Irisarri Finish Line 2

1:21.573 +0.012

Irisarri was 16th car on the track and final driver on 3rd group. 6 cars to go, the top names from Austrian GP? Stay tuned, we will be right back!

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Welcome back to follow San Marino Grand Prix qualifying session. Wagner still holds the pole time, how long can he hold on? he will be atleast 7th and i'm sure Puma team will be very happy for that.

Group 4:

Loukasmäki, Koski, Elencevski, Ryong, Jakonen, Whiteman

Loukasmäki

Mapes-VO

Petri Loukasmäki starts the final group of 6 cars. Petri's previous qualifying positions are 10th, 16th and 12th. At the races he really shows his speed and have been 6th, 4th and 6th so far. So Malaysia where is started down from 16th place he crossed the line on 4th place. At season opener Melbourne race he moved up only 4 places from 10th to 6th. At Austria 3 weeks ago he gained 8 places at the race. I would think his life at the race would be much easier if he would start from better place on the grid and I'm sure he is really trying to do that and it will be interesting to see what he can do now here at Imola. 1st sector 27.642, okay, not a sector record, he is 3 tenths down so far. 2nd sector 54.302 and gap is now 1.1 seconds, it wont be top starting place for Petri for this race either. Loram and Goodley did similar sector time, Loram had slow last sector so if he can beat Goodley it could be 8th place for him at the moment. Over the line goes the yellow-black Mapes-VO car and yes, Petri goes to 8th. Lap time 1:22.759 is just under 1.2 seconds slower than Wagner did. Actually Petri had pretty good final sector compared to Wagner as he lost only one tenth of a seconds there.

Loukasmäki Finish Line 8

1:22.759 +1.198

Koski

FinOz Racing

5 to go, 2 FinOz cars, Shiro Ryong on SCUM car, then Mapes-VO with Mikko Jakonen behind the wheel and last but not least all races this season winning Scot Whiteman on EIRE car completes San Marino Qualifying session. Kari starts his flying lap, he was disqualified at Melbourne where his 11th place on the grid was taken away. At Malaysia Kari was 4th and 3 weeks ago at Austria he was 3rd. Can Kari finally take the p1 from Wagner? 1st sector, 27.272 that's new sector record as he goes under Wagner's time by 0.037 seconds. That's not much, 2nd sector time will tell us much more. 53.341, he has lost his advantage and now trails Wagner by 0.109 seconds! Hard on the brakes to Rivazza and then heads down to Traguardo chicane. Very aggressive line on the curbs and accelerates over the line and?. He takes p1, awesome last sector from Kari and new pole time is 1:21.527. Wagner has to step down from p1 by 0.034 seconds. Kari set new record to 1st and final sectors.

Koski Finish Line 1

1:21.527 -0.034

Elencevski

FinOz Racing

But how long does Kari hold on the p1. Steve Elencevski has been slightly quicker of FinOz driver in every qualifying and every race, what time Steve can set here? 1st sector 27.126 that's already 0.146 seconds quicker than Kari just did, he is just flying again. 2nd sector goes cleanly, maybe a bit slow on Acque Minerali exit, hard to say. 2nd sector time is 53.237 and Steve has lost a bit of his advantage and leads now only by 0.104 seconds. Kari set very good time on last sector so this one could be close if Steve can't find some speed on last corners. Rivazza without mistakes and now to Traguardo and over the line, does he take P1 form his team mate? Yes he does 1:21.355 and he opens up the gap on last sector up to 0.172 seconds to Kari. So Elencevski leads, Koski is 2nd, again 1-2 for FinOz at the moment with 3 driver to go. Wagner is now 3rd, Irisarri, Sleight and Maple are next up.

Elencevski Finish Line 1

1:21.355 -0.172

Ryong

SCUM

Shiro Ryong missed the first 2 races of the season. At Austria he was 7th on the grid, but on race he move up to 3rd, so pretty good start for his 2004 campaign there, what he can do now? 1st sector 27.450 and he is 0.324 seconds off Elencevski's pace after first 7 corners. Piratella, Acque Minerali and Variante Alta without major drama, actually car looks to be very well balanced and Ryong is driving very smoothly, but what the time will be? 53.912, no good for him, he is now nearly 7 tenths down to Steve's time and 53.9 is slightly slower than Lock and Brown did. Lock is currently on 7th place. Down to Traguardo and over the line? 1:22.424 he is 1.069 seconds slower than Elencevski and goes just behind Lock to 8th place. Ryong lost to Lock only 0.028 seconds.

Ryong Finish Line 8

1:22.424 +1.069

Jakonen

Mapes-VO

Mikko Jakonen have been 6th, 3rd and 5th so far in previous qualifying's and 3rd and twice 2nd on the races and currently holds 2nd place on drivers championship standings with 22 points. Tamburello, Villeneuve and Tosa without mistakes and he completes the 1st sector in time of 27.146, he is just 0.020 seconds behind Elencevski who didn't have so good 2nd sector, so this could be Mikko's chance to beat the Australian. But no, 53.309 and Mikko lost a bit of time more to Steve and now trails by 0.072 seconds. It's still very close and with good last sector he still can take p1 from Steve. Rivazza cleanly and now to Traguardo, over the curbs and over the line and he goes to 2nd! 1:21.481, he goes between two FinOz drivers dropping Koski to 3rd.

Jakonen Finish Line 2

1:21.481 +0.126

Whiteman

EIRE

One to go, Scott Whiteman, will he take yet another pole? At Melbourne he was 3rd, at Malaysian and Austrian grand prix's he took the pole from Steve and again Steve leads with only Whiteman to go. Will this be 3rd time Whiteman snatches the pole from FinOz driver or will Elencevski score FinOz Racing's first ever pole position? Tamburello and down to Villeneuve chicane, Whiteman's EIRE just looks so smooth on the corners, no extra work on cockpit, car is just so well balanced and Whiteman finds the best setup. It's really hard to beat such strong package Whiteman and EIRE currently is. 1st sector and yes he does it again 27.089 and makes the sector record by 0.037 seconds to Elencevski. Through Piratella and down to Acque Minerali, clean through there and heads down to Variante Alta. Over the curbs and crosses the line to complete the 2nd sector 52.961 oh yes, only one to go under 53 seconds and he leads now by 0.276 seconds to Elencevski. This looks to be 3rd consecutive pole for Whiteman. Down to Rivazza small lock-up there and maybe a bit wide on 1st part, he is still pushing really hard. Good line through 2nd part of Rivazza, don't think he lost much time there, now right hander Variante Bassa and down to Traguardo chicane. Over the left side curb to right side curb, oh he gets the left side wheels to outside curb and rear end just snaps onto slide. He gets the car nicely under control and goes over the line to take po? NO! He goes 2nd! Whiteman lost it on last corner! Elencevski takes pole, his first at F1VWC and FinOz team goes crazy at pitlane. Whiteman hits the steering wheel, he knows he had it in his hands and lost it on last chicane. Elencevski, Whiteman that's front row, Jakonen and Koski to 2nd row. What a qualifying session once again.

Whiteman Finish Line 2

1:21.380 +0.025

Summary

Steve Elencevski taking his and FinOz Racing's first ever pole at F1VWC. Whiteman lost it on last chicane and Wagner starting from 3rd row after superb qualifying run. Top-7 covered within 0.282 seconds. This is what motor racing is on its best. Qualifying was very close and just unbelievable, hopefully race will be as close as qualifying was. Maybe it would be time to get the Whiteman from the top spot from the podium, can Elencevski make it from pole? Or could it be Jakonen, or someone else? What can Wagner do at the race, maybe score Puma F1 teamsfirst points? Loukasmäki will come hard from 13th place on the grid once again. It will be action packed 62 lapper for sure.

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1 Elencevski 1:21.355

2 Whiteman +0.025

3 Jakonen +0.126

4 Koski +0.172

5 Wagner +0.206

6 Irisarri +0.218

7 Sleight +0.282

8 Maple +0.633

9 Lock +1.041

10 Ryong +1.069

11 Brown +1.291

12 Aparicio +1.314

13 Loukasmäki +1.404

14 Goodley +1.675

15 Mihailovic +2.219

16 Loram +2.276

17 Harding +2.702

18 Forausberger +3.121

19 Liolias +3.767

20 Ponissi +5.792

21 McConkey penalty

22 Fretter no time

Poleposition development

Liolias Finish Line

1:25.122

Loram Finish Line

1:23.631 -1.491

Maple Finish Line

1:21.988 -1.643

Wagner Finish Line

1:21.561 -0.427

Koski Finish Line

1:21.527 -0.034

Elencevski Finish Line

1:21.355 -0.172