Brno’s high speed sweeping curves proved a challenge for the N.Technology Alfa Romeo team in today’s FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) qualifying session, with drivers James Thompson and Olivier Tielemans finishing 14th and 21st place respectively.

Today got underway with two free practice sessions in the morning and it was the Spaniard Félix Porteiro who set the fastest time in the first of those sessions with a lap of 2:13.457, just ahead of fellow BMW pilot and reigning WTCC champion, Andy Prilaux. The N.Technology Alfa Romeo team's push was headed by James Thompson whose time of 2:13.903 placed him in an excellent fifth place overall, just ahead of SEAT Sport duo of Michel Jourdain and Jordi Gené.

However in the second session, at the wheel of his Alfa Romeo 156, Thompson performed even better and the Briton set the fastest overall time, a 2:13.857 lap with just seven minutes in the session remaining. Immediately below him on the timesheets was Jörg Müller for BMW Team Germany with a 2:13.934 lap and then SEAT Sport's Gabriele Tarquini, making it three different brands in the top three, with a time of 2:13.954; the pair posting times which were just 0.077 and 0.097 seconds off Thompson's fastest time respectively.

Following this first-class performance from Thompson in the final morning practice session the N.Technology team unfortunately struggled to find the best set-up on a slippery track during the qualifying run. Thompson’s fastest lap was a 2:13.101, ahead of team-mate Olivier Tielemans’ time of 2:14.960. The Italian squad is confident the car will fare better under race conditions however, having collected important data from today’s session.
 

James Thompson: “We haven’t tested here this year, which doesn’t help. We struggled to find the right balance but the car has pace here; you could see that in free practice this morning. We are good on used tyres and we learned a lot from today’s qualifying so let’s hope for the best!”

Olivier Tielemans: “Today was about learning for me, it’s very hard to find the right braking points here but tomorrow is another day though and I will definitely push hard!”

Marco Calovolo, Technical Director: “The level of grip is very low here this weekend. Other teams have the advantage as they have tested here before, but we couldn’t. Bad luck today; finger’s crossed for tomorrow and we are hoping for some point finishes.”

FIA WTCC Brno qualifying – provisional results: 1. Félix Porteiro (ESP), BMW 320si, 2:11.585; 2. Andy Priaulx (GBR), BMW 320si, 2:11.949; 3. Joerg Muller (GER), BMW 320si, 2:12.042; 4. Alessandro Zanardi (ITA), BMW 320si, 2:12.145; 5. Jordi Gene (ESP), SEAT Leon, 2:12.376; 6. Augusto Farfus (BRA), BMW 320si, 2:12.406; 7. Pierre-Yves Corthals (BEL), SEAT Leon, 2:12.607; 8. Alain Menu (SUI), Chevrolet Lacetti, 2:12.669; 14. Selected: James Thompson (GBR), Alfa Romeo 156, 2:13.101; 21. Olivier Tielemans (NED), Alfa Romeo 156, 2:14.960.