UK: Thruxton rounds five, six qualifying notes

Arundel and Surtees claim their first poles of the year at Thruxton.

Thruxton, 05 May, 2007 - Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport) and Henry Surtees (Carlin Motorsport) claimed their first ever Formula BMW UK Championship pole positions, following this season's trend of a new polesitter for every round so far this year.

Fortec Motorsport proved the perfect tacticians in qualifying for Round Five with three of their drivers working together to claim the top three grid spots. The advantage of gaining a tow round the long back section of the Hampshire circuit made for two thrilling sessions leading up to the first race of the weekend later this evening.

Carlin Motorsport managed to gain the advantage for Round Six, after a red flag temporarily halted procedures, scoring the first all-Carlin front row of 2007. Surtees and Oliver Webb put in impressive drives to gain their best starting positions of the year for the race tomorrow. It's great for the team to break Fortec's run of poles, Surtees commented, It's very open at the front with six different drivers on pole in six races and I'll have to work hard to convert my pole into a win as there's a lot of overtaking that can be done round here. I'll be aiming to get away and break the tow."

Webb was pleased with his second place: I thought I might have done enough to keep pole but Surtees just pipped me," Webb smiled. I'm still happy to be on the front row, though, and second is a good place to be because there's no slipstream to use when you're leading. I've not been on the podium yet so I'm hoping my first visit will be to the top step!"

A delighted Arundel, who will start Round Five from pole and Round Six in third, said: I'm pleased to have my first pole position because I've been so close to it all year; it's a big psychological boost to see your name at the top of the list. I am frustrated that we didn't make the most of our potential and get the second pole as well, but the damage is minimal because I'm still in a position to win both races and that's what counts!"

Daniel McKenzie (Fortec Motorsport) claimed his first front row start with Rookie and Championship leader, Marcus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsport) rounding out the top spots for Round Five.

The Rookies were once again challenging at the front, with Ericsson, Webb and Surtees finishing top three in class for Round Five, the trio then reverse their order for Round Six.

With two new faces on pole and only a fraction of a second between the front-runners, the day could produce yet another new winner in the Formula BMW UK Championship 2007.

<pre> Results - Qualifying Round 5.

Pos      Driver                       Nat         Team                          Time
1.       Henry Arundel                GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:15.520
2.       Daniel McKenzie              GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:15.541
3.       Marcus Ericsson*             SWE         Fortec Motorsport             1:15.605
4.       Oliver Webb*                 GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:15.652
5.       Henry Surtees*               GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:15.843
6.       Kimiya Sato                  J           Nexa Racing                   1:15.954
7.       Adrian Quaife-Hobbs          GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:16.044
8.       Jonathan Legris              GB          Motaworld Racing              1:16.049
9.       Josef Kral                   CZ          Double R Racing               1:16.079
10.      Sam Abay                     AUS         Team Loctite                  1:16.430
11.      Valle Makela                 SF          Nexa Racing                   1:16.450
12.      Carlos Huertas*              COL         Double R Racing               1:16.600
13.      Jordan Williams              GB          Team Loctite                  1:16.878
14.      Tom Gladdis*                 GB          Nexa Racing                   1:16.944
15.      Anthony Comas                F           Victory Engineering           1:17.555
16.      Rupert Svendsen-Cook*        GB          Team Loctite                  1:17.569
17.      Callum Holland*              GB          Nexa Racing                   1:17.718
18.      Adam Butler*                 GB          Motaworld Racing              1:17.825

Results - Qualifying Round 6.

Pos      Driver                       Nat         Team                          Time
1.       Henry Surtees*               GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:16.011
2.       Oliver Webb*                 GB          Carlin Motorsport             1:16.042
3.       Henry Arundel                GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:16.058
4.       Marcus Ericsson*             SWE         Fortec Motorsport             1:16.068
5.       Josef Kral                   CZ          Double R Racing               1:16.118
6.       Kimiya Sato                  J           Nexa Racing                   1:16.185
7.       Sam Abay                     AUS         Team Loctite                  1:16.197
8.       Adrian Quaife-Hobbs          GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:16.202
9.       Carlos Huertas*              COL         Double R Racing               1:16.203
10.      Daniel McKenzie              GB          Fortec Motorsport             1:16.334
11.      Jonathan Legris              GB          Motaworld Racing              1:16.374
12.      Valle Makela                 SF          Nexa Racing                   1:16.627
13.      Jordan Williams              GB          Team Loctite                  1:16.723
14.      Rupert Svendsen-Cook*        GB          Team Loctite                  1:16.861
15.      Tom Gladdis*                 GB          Nexa Racing                   1:17.009
16.      Callum Holland*              GB          Nexa Racing                   1:17.567
17.      Anthony Comas                F           Victory Engineering           1:17.802
18.      Adam Butler*                 GB          Motaworld Racing              1:18.070

* indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup

</pre> -credit: bmw.uk