THIEVIN CATCHES THE POLE !
BRANDS HATCH, UK - Romain Thievin will start the Brands Hatch 200 Sprint Elite race from pole position tomorrow. The Frenchman beats Spanish drivers Ander Vilarino and Javier Villa. In the Open Division, Philippe Marie sets the fastest time ahead of Vincent Gonneau and Alain Grand.
ELITE DIVISION: ROMAIN THIEVIN TAKES HIS REVENGE
Despite the drizzle which starts to fall a few minutes before the 2012 EURO-RACECAR NASCAR Touring Series' second round qualifying, competitors keep their slick tyres during the 12-minute session. Romain Thiévin (# 99 Still Racing-Exotics Racing) drives like he stoled the car and reaches the top
of the timesheets as soon as the beginning of the session. Ander Vilarino (# 2 TFT-Banco Santander) and Javier Villa (# 64 TFT), best Junior, try to reply, but the resident of Las Vegas is too fast and he wins his first pole position of the year. In a different order, hierarchy seen in Nogaro is confirmed.
Behind the leading trio, the strong men of the first meeting are still there. Dimitri Enjalbert (# 33 Over Drive), 3rd of the Sprint Open in France, confirms its performance by finishing 4th. Wilfried Boucenna
(# 17 Pole Position 81), the inaugural Racecar Series champion in 2009, completes the top five.
Romain Iannetta (#25 Orhès Competition), Antoine Lioen (#5 Rapido Racing), Niall Quinn (#81 Pole Position 81), Vincent Gonneau (#15 Gonneau Racing) and Carole Perrin (#42 Autosport 42) are among the top 10. The performance of Niall Quinn is to be highlithed, because he discovered the car few hours ago during the only one free practice session.
OPEN DIVISION: FIRST POLE FOR PHILIPPE MARIE
The few drops that occurred at the end of the segment Elite become rain during the driver change, so the Open drivers have no other choice than using wet tires for qualifying. These conditions have given wings to Philippe Marie (# 88 Orhès Competition) who signs his first pole position in the discipline. Vincent Gonneau (# 15 Racing Gonneau) who already failed at Nogaro reaches the 2nd place, ahead of Alain Grand (# 11 Over Drive), very good 3rd.
Behind them, Simon Escallier (#18 Scorpus Racing) once again shows how fast he is and Ben Anderson (#6 Rapido Racing), the AUTOSPORT journalist who covers the event, qualifies at a great 5th place. Martin Van Hove (#64 TFT), Tanguy Ide (#44 Orhès Competition), Jerome Laurin (#55 Pole Position 81), Adriano Medeiros (#42 Autosport 42) and Neil Tressler (#7 Pacific House) complete the top 10. Especially, the newcomers Ben Anderson, England, and Adriano Medeiros, Brazil, reach the top 10 for their first ever laps racing laps in the series.
THEY SAID...
Romain Thiévin (Division Elite Pole position) : « I'm very happy to set my first pole position in the European NASCAR Touring Series. It was a bit difficult because of the weather. I saw P2 on my panel and I pushed for the entire session. I had no times in the car, so when I came back to the pit, I thought I was misplaced. And then Eric (Hélary, Still Racing's boss) told me I won the pole for only 2/100 of a second. Because of his victories of last year, we had an excellent set-up. Ander (Vilarino) is obviously very close and Javier (Villa) is not far. It'll be a tight race!
Ander Vilarino (2nd Division Elite) : « I think we should be happy from this new first line. Congratulations to Romain for its beautiful qualifying. It was a lottery because there was a lot of traffic and a little bite of rain at the end of the session. The conditions were difficult, at first slightly damp, then it dried up and wet at the end.
Javier Villa (3rd Division Elite) : « The feeling with the car and the circuit is good, but I made two small mistakes in the first two corners. I didn't lose 1 second, but at least 2 or 3/10th of a second. And as I finish only 1/10th behind... In the next run, it started raining and there was traffic. Which is normal when there is 23 cars on a 1,1 mile circuit...
Philippe Marie (Division Open Pole position) : « I felt good because I love this circuit. Last year I drove well but had some problems in qualifying. This weekend starts perfectly and we are happy to be there. Conditions were a bit difficult and it helped to stand out. I was slower on the dry asphalt, but the rain helped me to take advantage of my competitors.
RESULTS
Elite Division : 1. Romain Thievin (#99 Still Racing-Exotics Racing) 49''816 (86,63 mph), 2. Ander Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander) 49''836, 3. Javier Villa (#64 TFT) 49''982 (1st Junior), 4. Dimitri Enjalbert (#33 Over Drive) 50''292, 5. Wilfried Boucenna (#17 Pole Position 81) 50''357, 6. Romain Iannetta (#25 Orhès Compétition) 50''473, 7. Antoine Lioen (Rapido Racing) 50''611, 8. Niall Quinn (#81 Pole Position 81) 50''611, 9. Vincent Gonneau (#15 Gonneau Racing) 50''822, 10. Carole Perrin (#42 Autosport 42) 50''914,..., 14. Bruno Cosion (#55 Pole Position 81)51''107 (1st Challenger), etc.
Open Division : 1. Philippe Marie (#88 Orhès Compétition) 55''605 (77,61 mph) (1st Gentleman), 2. Vincent Gonneau (#15 Gonneau Racing) 56''025, 3. Alain Grand (#11 Over Drive-McDonald's) 56''230, 4. Simon Escalier (#18 Scorpus Racing) 56''248, 5. Ben Anderson (#6 Rapido Racing) 57''245, 6. Martin Van Hove (#64 TFT) 57''789, 7. Tanguy Ide (#44 Orhès Compétition) 58''055, 8. Jérôme Laurin (#55 Pole Position 81) 58''135 (1st Legend), 9. Adriano Medeiros (#42 Autosport 42) 58''170, 10. Neil Tressler (#7 Pacific House) 58''199, etc.
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