Valencia: SEAT Sport qualifying notes

Gene "at home" on the front row at Valencia

For the second year in a row, Jordi Gene's SEAT Sport Leon will start from the front row of the grid for the Spanish team's home round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship. A year ago, Gene started from pole position and went on to give the Leon its first victory in the WTCC, while for 2006, Jordi will start from 2nd on the grid after losing pole position to the Alfa Romeo of Augusto Farfus with just 25 seconds of the session remaining. In all, 4 of the top 8 places on the grid will be occupied by a SEAT Leon, with Tom Coronel having qualified 5th, James Thompson 7th and Peter Terting 8th.

Victory in either of the two races will be enough to give Coronel the Yokohama Independents' Trophy regardless of how his nearest rivals score, while Thompson is keen to get back into the fight for the WTCC Drivers' Championship after failing to score in both the previous two meetings. Terting was quick to praise his mechanics after the session; an off-track excursion during the morning's 2nd practice session caused extensive damage to the underside of the car and repairs were only finished a matter of minutes before qualifying began.

-credit: seat sport