Silverstone: Saturday qualifying quotes

Gabriele TARQUINI, Alfa Romeo Racing Team pole position
"I am really happy because I spent a few good seasons around Britain, I feel quite at home here. I think my performance was really good in qualifying and it's great to be surrounded by my team-mates. Tomorrow the show will be as great as ever. I have not noticed the 20 kg weight reduction because we have no comparisons of previous races at this track. I am certain however that the Touring Car Bureau's decision is making a substantial difference."

James THOMPSON, Alfa Romeo Racing Team 2nd fastest
"Considering Gabriele is half British I guess it is the next best thing to having a Briton on pole. It was very close in the end. This result is great for the team. We had difficulties in Magny Cours and to come here and have a strong showing is exactly how we needed to bounce back. I think we will have a great crowd tomorrow. Traditionally, touring car racing has been the premiere motorsport in this country. I think the chance to see some good old fashioned touring car racing, with veterans and some new boys on the touring car scene is what people want. They love it here and the International circuit lends itself to racing, it's going to be a fantastic."

Fabrizio GIOVANARDI, Alfa Romeo Racing Team 3rd fastest
"In the free practice my car was very fast, therefore I felt comfortable to push hard in qualifying. Unfortunately I made a mistake which allowed my team-mates to be quicker than me but I am still confident for tomorrow. The starts are always difficult because we know the BMWs are quick off the line, but our cars are fast and over the entire race we will be very competitive."

Andy PRIAULX, BMW Team UK 4th fastest
"This was a big turn around. In the first two meetings we were not as competitive as we would like. All credit to the team and everybody because they've worked hard to make this step up. The car is really good, testing has definitely paid off. I don't care how much ballast I have in my car, it's a really nice car to drive now and of course that is the most important thing for me."

Peter TERTING, SEAT Sport 5th fastest
"I'm very happy with 5th position, it's my best result so far. The lap was good but not perfect, I locked the front wheel, so perhaps I can go even faster. It looks good for tomorrow. My team-mates help me a lot, they are more experienced which is great for me. I hope it stays dry tomorrow. I am aiming to overtake a few guys and stand on the podium but it is more important to use the reverse grid for the second race and gain some championship points."

Paul RIDGWAY, GR Asia Team Principal
"We are really happy. Tom (Coronel) did a really good job, with a time close to the factory cars'. A little bit disappointed with Valle (Malela), I don't think he took on his tyres at the right time so he is not in the position we had hoped. I think we could have had a 1-2 which would have been excellent for the team."

Alain MENU, Chevrolet 15th fastest
"I am pretty happy with my performance considering that I didn't take part in the first practice session and I only completed nine laps in the second. If I had been able to get some good practice I'm sure my times would have been a lot faster. It looks promising for the race though."

Eberhard Braun, German motorsports manager of FordTeamRS
"We have done a lot of testing before Silverstone and managed a number of improvements. However, most of the testing was carried out on circuits with a smooth surface. Thus, we were caught out by the bumps of Silverstone. I'm sure we would have coped had it not been for the lack of track time in the free sessions."

-fia-