UK: Rockingham qualifying notes

Quaife-Hobbs and Kral claim poles on Formula BMW's return to Rockingham.

Rockingham, 21 April, 2007. Rookie Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Fortec Motorsport) and Czech Josef Kral (Double R Racing) claimed pole positions for Rounds Three and Four of the Formula BMW UK Championship tomorrow on the International Sportscar Circuit at Rockingham.

The action continued in the same fashion as at Brands Hatch two weeks ago, with just half a second separating the top eight drivers in two closely fought qualifying sessions.

A delighted Quaife-Hobbs claimed his maiden Formula BMW pole, stealing the top position for Round Three from Kral as the chequered flag came out. "Starting my final lap I knew there was more time in the car so I decided to push as hard as possible. It was all or nothing and, despite knowing I'd put in a 1:20.286, I didn't know if I'd done enough to secure pole until I got back to the team! It's an amazing feeling and I am really looking forward to tomorrow."

Kral put his disappointing retirement at Brands Hatch behind him to secure two front row spots - a second and pole respectively for Rounds Three and Four. "Everything has been going perfectly so far this weekend, I just hope tomorrow's races are easier and turn out better than at Brands Hatch," he said.

Last year's Rookie Champion, Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport) was happy with third and second place grid spots for Sunday, but is also feeling the tension of the close competition. He said: "I'm delighted that after 24 qualifying sessions this is my best ever result, but it's also quite frustrating that for Round Four I was only 0.004 seconds off claiming my first pole. It's not a coincidence that every session is so close, it proves that we're all right on the limit of what these cars can do. Now it's all down to the racing!"

Sixteen-year-old Rookie and joint Championship leader, Marcus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsport) continued his challenge at the top, heading the Rookies for Round Four with fifth and third places overall. Valle Makela (Nexa Racing), who shares the Championship lead with Ericsson, will start thirteenth and twelfth.

With so many drivers in contention, the run down to the first corner will be crucial tomorrow. Spectators can expect to see plenty of jostling for position as the young drivers fight for every point.

<pre> Results - Qualifying Round 3.

Pos      Driver                       Nat         Team                           Time
1.       Adrian Quaife-Hobbs          GB          Fortec Motorsport              1:20.286
2.       Josef Kral                   CZ          Double R Racing                1:20.315
3.       Henry Arundel                GB          Fortec Motorsport              1:20.345
4.       Henry Surtees*               GB          Carlin Motorsport              1:20.388
5.       Marcus Ericsson*             SWE         Fortec Motorsport              1:20.421
6.       Oliver Webb*                 GB          Carlin Motorsport              1:20.496
7.       Daniel McKenzie              GB          Fortec Motorsport              1:20.572
8.       Sam Abay                     AUS         Team Loctite                   1:20.730
9.       Kimiya Sato                  J           Nexa Racing                    1:20.788
10.      Carlos Huertas*              COL         Double R Racing                1:20.804
11.      Jonathan Legris              GB          Motaworld Racing               1:20.916
12.      Michael Moyers               GB          Hyperion Motorsport            1:20.974
13.      Valle Makela                 SF          Nexa Racing                    1:21.151
14.      Jordan Williams              GB          Team Loctite                   1:21.525
15.      Anthony Comas                F           Victory Engineering            1:21.566
16.      Callum Holland*              GB          Nexa Racing                    1:21.746
17.      Rupert Svendsen-Cook*        GB          Team Loctite                   1:22.232
18.      Tom Gladdis*                 GB          Nexa Racing                    1:22.242

Results - Qualifying Round 4.

Pos      Driver                       Nat         Team                           Time
1.       Josef Kral                   CZ          Double R Racing                1:20.467
2.       Henry Arundel                GB          Fortec Motorsport              1:20.471
3.       Marcus Ericsson*             SWE         Fortec Motorsport              1:20.495
4.       Henry Surtees*               GB          Carlin Motorsport              1:20.642
5.       Adrian Quaife-Hobbs          GB          Fortec Motorsport              1:20.693
6.       Kimiya Sato                  J           Nexa Racing                    1:20.850
7.       Jonathan Legris              GB          Motaworld Racing               1:20.895
8.       Daniel McKenzie              GB          Fortec Motorsport              1:20.923
9.       Oliver Webb*                 GB          Carlin Motorsport              1:21.015
10.      Carlos Huertas*              COL         Double R Racing                1:21.093
11.      Sam Abay                     AUS         Team Loctite                   1:21.222
12.      Valle Makela                 SF          Nexa Racing                    1:21.259
13.      Michael Moyers               GB          Hyperion Motorsport            1:21.438
14.      Jordan Williams              GB          Team Loctite                   1:22.075
15.      Anthony Comas                F           Victory Engineering            1:22.083
16.      Tom Gladdis*                 GB          Nexa Racing                    1:22.162
17.      Rupert Svendsen-Cook*        GB          Team Loctite                   1:22.761
18.      Callum Holland*              GB          Nexa Racing                    1:23.129

* indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup </pre> -credit: fbmw.uk