MOST, Czech Republic – The weather played an important role in the battles for the NASCAR GP Czech Republic Pole Awards at Autodrom Most on Saturday.
After plenty of rain in the morning, the EuroNASCAR PRO drivers found a soaked track that was drying during the 30-minute sessions. Loris Hezemans grabbed the pole position by clocking a 1:51.364-lap on his last attempt.
Waiting for the best track conditions, strategy was the key in the EuroNASCAR 2 session. Tobias Dauenhauer grabbed the pole on a track that was getting faster every minute.
In the EuroNASCAR PRO qualifying session, Hezemans battled for the pole with Alon Day, Jacques Villeneuve and Sebastiaan Bleekemolen in thrilling fashion. The Dutchman just got over the start-finish-line at the very last moment to make one more attempt at the end of the 30-minutes session on the drying track. The Hendriks Motorsport driver bested Villeneuve by .636 seconds.
The 1997 Formula One World Champion had to settle for second after a thrilling qualifying session. Villeneuve clocked the 4.1 kilometer long track in 1:52.000 at the wheel of his No. 5 Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport EuroNASCAR FJ. Bleekemolen followed in third with another strong performance, .919 seconds shy of the polesitter. Reigning champion Alon Day finished fourth ahead of Hendriks Motorsport’s Vittorio Ghirelli after running off track in his latest attempt.
In the early stages of EuroNASCAR 2 qualifying, the drivers were playing the waiting game. The sun came out behind the clouds and accelerated the track’s drying process. That’s why the best lap time was set in the very last lap of the session and it was championship leader Dauenhauer, who won his first Pole Award of the season. The German in the colors of Hendriks Motorsport clocked the Autodrom Most in 1:42.586.
DF1 Racing driver Simon Pilate ended up second at the wheel of his No. 66 Chevrolet Camaro. The Belgian, who also set his fastest lap on his last attempt, was .115 seconds slower than Dauenhauer. Academy Motorsport / Alex Caffi Motorsport’s Vladimiros Tziortzis followed in third, .425 seconds behind the pole sitter.