26.06.2004 Alfa Romeo bounce right back at a wet Donington Park with pole winner James Thompson leading out an Autodelta clean sweep: ETCC qualifying report and times from Donington Park

Saturday ETCC action from Donington ParkJames Thompson claimed his first pole position in the FIA European Touring Car Championship, and gave Alfa Romeo its third pole of the season.

AutoDelta cars might have been in trouble in the previous meetings, but today in Donington Park they proved to be back on the winning pace.

Thompson and his team-mates, Gabriele Tarquini, Fabrizio Giovanardi and Augusto Farfus dominating the day, both in dry and wet conditions.

The qualifying session was tricky, because only the racing lines were dry, while the rest of the track remained damp and slippery. This caused trouble for a number of drivers. Carly Motors’ Klaas Zwart spun twice and rejoined, Oregon Team’s Michele Bartyan went off into the gravel at Macleans and GR Asia’s Toni Ruokonen crashed due to a brake failure.

From the beginning, the Alfa Romeo men set the pace. Ten minutes into the session Gabriele Tarquini was the first driver to break the 1:40 barrier, setting a provisional pole at 1:39.793, which he immediately improved to 1:39.750. Halfway through the session, Fabrizio Giovanardi ousted Tarquini, with a lap in 1:39.718, and he also managed to improve, cutting another four tenths down to 1:39.374.

With ten minutes left, Thompson moved up to second, clocking a 1:39.392, only 0.018 seconds slower than Giovanardi. A few moments later, the Englishman claimed a provisional pole position at 1:39.295, but immediately lost it to Tarquini who posted a 1:38.994. Tarquini was then ousted again by Giovanardi with a flying 1:38.904. However Thompson had the last word, going down to 1:38.698 as the chequered flag was waved. Augusto Farfus completed the Alfa Romeo domination, placing fourth, 1:39.561.

Jörg Müller managed to set the fifth-fastest time, 1:39.562, only one thousandth of a second slower than Farfus, emerging as the best BMW driver. SEAT Sport’s Rickard Rydell and Jordi Gené placed immediately after him.

Salvatore Tavano ranked ninth, claiming pole position in the Independents Trophy. The 40-kg handicap weight proved very effective, preventing Dirk Müller and Andy Priaulx, first and second in the championship classification, to qualify any better than eighth and thirteenth.

2004 FIA EUROPEAN TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP RDS 11 & 12: DONINGTON PARK - QUALIFYING
POS NO CL DRIVER NAT CAR TIME LAPS GAP KM/H
1   6      James THOMPSON   GBR   Alfa Romeo 156   1:38.698   14       146.73  
 2   2      Fabrizio GIOVANARDI   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156   1:38.904   14   0.206    146.43  
 3   1      Gabriele TARQUINI   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156   1:38.994   14   0.296    146.30  
 4   3      Augusto FARFUS JR.   BRA   Alfa Romeo 156   1:39.561   14   0.863    145.46  
 5   42      Jorg MULLER   GER   BMW 320i   1:39.562   14   0.864    145.46  
 6   8      Rickard RYDELL   SWE   SEAT Toledo Cupra   1:39.624   13   0.926    145.37  
 7   9      Jordi GENE   ESP   SEAT Toledo Cupra   1:39.777   12   1.079    145.15  
 8   43      Dirk MULLER   GER   BMW 320i   1:39.945   15   1.247    144.90  
 9   44   I   Salvatore TAVANO   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156 GTA  1:40.043   14   1.345    144.76  
 10   5      Antonio GARCIA   ESP   BMW 320i   1:40.114   13   1.416    144.66  
 11   46   I   Luca RANGONI   ITA   Alfa Romeo 156 GTA  1:40.143   14   1.445    144.62  
 12   12      Kurt MOLLEKENS   BEL   BMW 320i   1:40.191   14   1.493    144.55  
 13   11      Andy PRIAULX   GBR   BMW 320i   1:40.386   14   1.688    144.27  
 14   14   I   Alessandro BALZAN   ITA   Honda Accord Euro R   1:40.562   16   1.864    144.01  
 15   4      Alessandro ZANARDI   ITA   BMW 320i   1:40.804   14   2.106    143.67  
 16   25   I   Stefano D'ASTE   ITA   BMW 320i   1:40.836   14   2.138    143.62  
 17   23      Jan MAGNUSSEN   DEN   Peugeot 307 Gti   1:40.841   12   2.143    143.62  
 18   10      Frank DIEFENBACHER   GER   SEAT Toledo Cupra   1:40.878   10   2.180    143.56  
 19   24      Jason WATT   DEN   Peugeot 307 Gti   1:40.953   14   2.255    143.46  
 20   20   I   Tom CORONEL   NED   BMW 320i   1:41.032   10   2.334    143.34  
 21   22   I   Klaas ZWART   NED   BMW 320i   1:41.039   11   2.341    143.33  
 22   27   I   Carl ROSENBLAD   SWE   BMW 320i   1:41.355   13   2.657    142.89  
 23   16   I   Simon HARRISON   GBR   Honda Civic Type-R   1:43.218   14   4.520    140.31  
 24   45   I   Michele BARTYAN   AUT   Alfa Romeo 156 GTA  1:43.383   8   4.685    140.08  
 25   17   I   Toni RUOKONEN   FIN   Honda Civic Type-R   1:43.712   11   5.014    139.64