17.04.2004 AUGUSTO FARFUS LEADS OUT AN ALFA ROMEO 1-2-3 IN SPAIN AS THE AUTODELTA TRIO UTTERLY DOMINATE QUALIFYING
Gabriele Tarquini during qualifying in Monza

Augusto Farfus claimed his first pole position in the FIA European Touring Car Championship, annihilitating the rest of the field, his own team-mates included, with an amazing lap in 1:40.819.

This meant also a massive improvement from the fastest times set in the free practice sessions. Farfus led an Alfa Romeo 1-2-3, a real crimson tide that swept the other competitors away.

Gabriele Tarquini, pole-sitter in Monza, was second-fastest today, only 0.087 seconds behind Farfus, while Fabrizio Giovanardi completed the Autodelta trio at the top; however, the 2002 FIA ETCC champion was 9 tenths slower than Farfus.

Andy Priaulx was the best of the rest; on his last qualifying lap the Briton clocked a time of 1:42.088, which was 1.2 seconds off the pole, but it was good enough to oust SEAT Sport’s Frank Diefenbacher from the fourth spot of the starting grid.

Sixth fastest, and best of the independents, was Oregon Team’s Luca Rangoni with a lap in 1:42.396. The Italian driver managed to keep behind some top-guns like the Müllers (Dirk was 7th, Jörg 12th) and local heroes Antonio García (8th) and Jordi Gené (10th).

The Oregon Team’s great day was completed by Salvatore Tavano and Michele Bartyan who were placed 9th and 13th respectively, giving the team a 1-2-3 in the Independents Trophy. Alessandro Zanardi continued improving after a troubleful first practice session, and set the 14th fastest lap.

2004 FIA European Touring Car Championship Rd 2: Valencia  - QUALIFYING 
 POS   NO   CL   DRIVER    NAT   CAR    TIME   LAPS   GAP   KPH 
 1   3      Augusto FARFUS JR.   BRA   Alfa Romeo 156 S2000   1:40.819   8       143.00  
 2   1      Gabriele TARQUINI   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156 S2000   1:40.906   9   0.087    142.88  
 3   2      Fabrizio GIOVANARDI   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156 S2000   1:41.754   13   0.935    141.69  
 4   11      Andy PRIAULX   GBR   BMW 320i   1:42.088   11   1.269    141.23  
 5   10      Frank DIEFENBACHER   GER   SEAT Toledo Cupra   1:42.183   9   1.364    141.10  
 6   46   I   Luca RANGONI   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156 GTA  1:42.396   12   1.577    140.80  
 7   43      Dirk MULLER   GER   BMW 320i   1:42.570   10   1.751    140.56  
 8   5      Antonio GARCIA   ESP   BMW 320i   1:42.612   10   1.793    140.51  
 9   44   I   Salvatore TAVANO   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156 GTA  1:42.721   13   1.902    140.36  
 10   9      Jordi GENE   ESP   SEAT Toledo Cupra   1:42.731   9   1.912    140.34  
 11   8      Rickard RYDELL   SWE   SEAT Toledo Cupra   1:42.922   10   2.103    140.08  
 12   42      Jorg MULLER   GER   BMW 320i   1:42.943   9   2.124    140.05  
 13   45   I   Michele BARTYAN   AUT   Alfa Romeo 156 GTA  1:43.256   12   2.437    139.63  
 14   4      Alessandro ZANARDI   ITA   BMW 320i   1:43.344   12   2.525    139.51  
 15   20   I   Tom CORONEL   NED   BMW 320i   1:43.532   13   2.713    139.26  
 16   14   I   Alessandro BALZAN   ITA   Honda Civic Type-R   1:43.715   13   2.896    139.01  
 17   28   I   Thomas KLENKE   GER   Ford Focus ST170   1:43.898   11   3.079    138.77  
 18   16   I   Simon HARRISON   GBR   Honda Civic Type-R   1:44.156   14   3.337    138.42  
 19   23      Jan MAGNUSSEN   DEN   Peugeot 307 Gti   1:44.270   9   3.451    138.27  
 20   25   I   Stefano D'ASTE   ITA   BMW 320i   1:44.525   15   3.706    137.93  
 21   18   I   Sebastian GRUNERT   GER   Ford Focus ST170   1:44.840   12   4.021    137.52  
 22   17   I   Toni RUOKONEN   FIN   Honda Civic Type-R   1:44.866   11   4.047    137.49  
 23   27   I   Carl ROSENBLAD   SWE   BMW 320i   1:45.201   11   4.382    137.05  
 24   21   I   Paulien ZWART   NED   BMW 320i   1:45.348   14   4.529    136.86