UK: Croft qualifying notes

Sato and Ericsson claim poles for Croft.

Croft, 02 June, 2007. Kimiya Sato (Nexa Racing) and Marcus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsport) claimed a pole position apiece for each of tomorrow's races.

In glorious sunshine at the North Yorkshire circuit, Ericsson kept himself in contention to retain his Championship lead on Sunday with a third placed grid spot for Round Seven and pole for Round Eight. The Swede is also the first person to claim his second pole position this year, with such a competitive grid of young hopefuls all vying for the top starting spot.

"I was a bit disappointed in the first qualifying as I got caught up in traffic but was able to claim the pole next session out," Ericsson commented. "I was putting in really consistent lap times though and the car is set up perfectly for racing so I'm feeling really positive. I absolutely need to win tomorrow to retain the Championship lead".

With Ericsson's closest Championship rival, teammate Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport) starting ninth and sixth for Sunday's races, the youngster may have the chance to extend his Championship lead.

A delighted Sato became the seventh new polesitter of the year for Round Seven and will also start Round Eight on the front row in second. "It's fantastic", he smiled "I just hope the races will go as well tomorrow!"

Henry Surtees (Carlin Motorsport) rounded out the top trio for both sessions, claiming second and third spots for the two races tomorrow.

The Rookies were once again challenging at the front, with Surtees topping the class for Round Seven and polesitter Ericsson top Rookie for Round Eight.

With only a second covering the top twelve for both races and the season nearing its halfway point, expect some great action round the sweeping curves of Croft tomorrow.

<pre> Results - Qualifying Round 7.

Pos      Driver                       Nat         Team                          Time
1.       Kimiya Sato                  J           Nexa Racing                   1:22.523
2.       Henry Surtees*               GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:22.602
3.       Marcus Ericsson*             SWE         Fortec Motorsport             1:22.606
4.       Josef Kral                   CZ          Double R Racing               1:22.808
5.       Daniel McKenzie              GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:22.823
6.       Valle Makela                 SF          Nexa Racing                   1:22.862
7.       Sam Abay                     AUS         Team Loctite                  1:22.932
8.       Oliver Webb*                 GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:23.027
9.       Henry Arundel                GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:23.042
10.      Adrian Quaife-Hobbs*         GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:23.076
11.      Jonathan Legris              GB          Motaworld Racing              1:23.314
12.      Carlos Huertas*              COL         Double R Racing               1:23.402
13.      Jordan Williams              GB          Team Loctite                  1:23.575
14.      Anthony Comas                F           Victory Engineering           1:23.673
15.      Rupert Svendsen-Cook*        GB          Team Loctite                  1:23.887
16.      Tom Gladdis*                 GB          Team BRD                      1:24.082
17.      Adam Butler*                 GB          Motaworld Racing              1:25.220

Results - Qualifying Round 8.

Pos      Driver                       Nat         Team                          Time
1.       Marcus Ericsson*             SWE         Fortec Motorsport             1:22.583
2.       Kimiya Sato                  J           Nexa Racing                   1:22.627
3.       Henry Surtees*               GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:22.633
4.       Daniel McKenzie              GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:22.787
5.       Josef Kral                   CZ          Double R Racing               1:22.943
6.       Henry Arundel                GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:23.089
7.       Adrian Quaife-Hobbs*         GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:23.133
8.       Sam Abay                     AUS         Team Loctite                  1:23.156
9.       Jonathan Legris              GB          Motaworld Racing              1:23.231
10.      Valle Makela                 SF          Nexa Racing                   1:23.263
11.      Oliver Webb*                 GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:23.422
12.      Carlos Huertas*              COL         Double R Racing               1:23.571
13.      Anthony Comas                F           Victory Engineering           1:23.753
14.      Rupert Svendsen-Cook*        GB          Team Loctite                  1:23.832
15.      Jordan Williams              GB          Team Loctite                  1:23.920
16.      Tom Gladdis*                 GB          Team BRD                      1:24.915
17.      Adam Butler*                 GB          Motaworld Racing              1:25.687

</pre>

* Rookie

-credit: bmw.uk