Augusto Farfus created a big surprise by securing his second pole position of the year, and placing Alfa Romeo on top of the qualifying times at the Oschersleben Motorpark.

Despite this circuit was considered to suit much better BMW and SEAT cars than the Italian machines, Farfus was not the only Alfa Romeo driver to shine.

Unlike the previous years, when they struggled to be on the pace, the AutoDelta cars were leading nearly the whole session today.

James Thompson set a provisional pole position on his first flying lap (1:33.195); ten minutes later he was ousted by Gabriele Tarquini, the first man under the 1.33 mark (1:32.817).

Immediately afterwards, Andy Priaulx improved the pole position time to 1:32.755, while Farfus matched exactly Tarquini’s time (1:32.817). Priaulx’s dream to be on pole ended ten minutes before the end of the session, when Tarquini went down to 1:32.518.

But it was not the end yet, as Farfus claimed the pole position for good and, under the chequered flag, Priaulx stole second place from Tarquini with a lap in 1:32.318. As for the two Müllers, Dirk claimed the fourth spot of the grid (1:32.725), while Jörg qualified in a disappointed 12th position (1:33.312).

Frank Diefenbacher, who had set the fastest time in free practice, qualified sixth with a lap in 1:33.873, just ahead of his team-mate Jordi Gené. SEAT Sport third driver, Rickard Rydell, completed only three laps, setting the 20th fastest time, due to misfire problems.

Oregon Team’s Salvatore Tavano claimed another pole position in the Independents Trophy, setting an excellent eighth fastest time overall (1:32.984). He managed to keep behind fourth Alfa Romeo works driver Fabrizio Giovanardi and the Carly Motors BMW's of Duncan Huisman and Tom Coronel. Antonio García set the 13th fastest time, but he will be placed at the back of the grid because his engine has been changed before the session started.