Italian GP: Bridgestone Saturday qualifying notes

Barrichello Masters Monza on Bridgestone Potenzas!

Bridgestone equipped Rubens Barrichello was on spectacular form this afternoon at the 5.793km Monza circuit taking his second pole position of the 2004 season. More than half a second clear of his nearest challenger Juan Pablo Montoya, the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro driver drove an inspirational lap in front of the delighted Italian Tifosi.

Teammate and World Champion Michael Schumacher was 0.548 seconds behind after losing time in the final sector but was still close enough tto finish third. Sauber Petronas' Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa will line up on the 8th row of the grid but are expected to be strong on Sunday after encouraging runs earlier in the weekend.

Hisao Suganuma, Technical Manager of Bridgestone Motorsport:

"It's great to see Rubens on pole! I was very impressed with his fantastic performance. Michael was on track to be closer to Rubens but unfortunately he lost a little time in the final sector. Generally though, I'm satisfied with today's tyre performance and encouraged for tomorrow which will be an interesting race. While the other Bridgestone cars are further down the grid I wouldn't discount them and judging by their practice session results, I fully expect them to be running well."

Ross Brawn, Technical Director of Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro:

"All weekend our position has been really unclear and considering our race strategy for tomorrow I'm delighted with our performance this afternoon. It's the first measure we've had against the opposition. Rubens drove a fantastic lap I mean, an unbelievable lap which really put the pressure on Michael, who had a little difficulty in his lap. But first and third is a great result and we have a very consistent race tyre from Bridgestone."

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