EU: Series Zolder qualifying report

Successful qualifying for Juncadella: the Spaniard claims two poles.

Zolder, 31st May 2008. Formula BMW Europe driver Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational) put in a compelling performance during qualifying at Zolder in Belgium. The 17-year-old Spaniard will be starting the third and fourth races of the season (Sunday 11.50 h and Sunday 16.45 h) from pole position. On the 3.977-kilometre course, Juncadella managed to assert himself against Esteban Gutierrez (MX/Josef Kaufmann Racing), relegating the 16-year-old Mexican and his team-mate Marco Wittmann (DE/Josef Kaufmann Racing) to second and third places on the grid.

What decides the grid line-up for the fourth race of the season is the second- best time of each driver in qualifying. That puts Juncadella and Wittmann in first and second place on the grid. Gutierrez and David Mengesdorf (DE/Mucke Motorsport) will make up the second row.

The leader of the overall rankings, Adrien Tambay (FR/Eifelland Racing), claimed tenth place in qualifying for Sunday's earlier race and sixth place for the afternoon race.

Polesetter Races 3+4: Daniel Juncadella (ES/Eurointernational). "To be honest, I surprised myself a little bit. After my first fast lap I went off into the gravel and had to go back to the pits to get cleaned up. After that I went out again and managed to come up with another fast lap. I just had the perfect feeling out on the track. The last laps were yellow-flagged, of course, which makes me glad I managed to get my best lap times in before that. The car was running superbly, and since the first test here we've really taken a major leap."

Best Rookie: David Mengesdorf (DE/Mucke Motorsport), P5 for Race 3 + P4 for Race 4. "Fifth place on the grid puts me in a good position as best rookie. I just find the circuit really suits me. The course is narrow and demands a particularly smooth driving style. You have to take a lot of speed with you out of every corner. I'm looking forward to the races."

-credit: formulabmw.com