Spa: Harold Primat qualifying report

Number 17 Pescarolo qualifies ninth for Spa 1000kms

The number 17 Pescarolo-Judd of Harold Primat and Christophe Tinseau wi ll start Sunday's Spa 1000kms from ninth on the grid following Saturday 's 20-minute qualifying session.

Frenchman Tinseau took on qualifying duties and set a best time of 2:05 .358 on his first flying lap to ensure a top-ten starting position fo r the six-hour race.

The morning's free practise session saw the weekend's first major drama when Primat was pushed into the tyre barriers at the high-speed Turn 1 4 by the Chamberlain Synergy Lola of Bob Berridge. The car suffered s ome front and rear end damage, but was quickly repaired by the team and returned to the track to complete the session.

Primat said: "We had a big moment this morning when the Chamberlian Syn ergy car ran into me at Stavelot, which is a very quick corner, and sen t me into the tyre wall. We lost some time in the session, but thankf ully I was able to get the car back to the pits and the guys fixed it r eally quickly, which enabled us to go out and do some more set-up work. Christophe has done a very good job in qualifying and is close to the time of our team-mates in the 16 car, which bodes well for the race."

Tinseau said: "We made some changes to the car to help with the handlin g and it felt good on my first two flying laps. I was pleased with my qualifying lap, because it was our best time of the weekend, and whils t I'd like to have been a few tenths quicker, this is only qualifying a nd we have a six-hour race ahead of us."

Team boss Henri Pescarolo said: "We've worked quite well since the star t of free practise and the drivers' times are competitive. We have a good pair of drivers in each car so we can fight for a podium."

Credit: hp