BMW Team RBM endured a difficult World Touring Car Championship qualifying session at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, as Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx could only manage ninth and tenth fastest in the Q2 top-ten shootout. They will both gain a position for the grid for Race One though, due to a penalty for Tom Coronel.
RBM Team Principal Bart Mampaey was disappointed with the performance of the BMWs in the session. He said: “The first phase of qualifying was already a tough job, as the lap times were all very close. We successfully advanced into Q2 with both cars. Our performance in the final ten minutes was not good enough. The track didn't offer much grip, which doesn't suit our car. Both drivers tried to make the best of the situation. But it wasn't easy to put in a flawless lap in such conditions.”
Farfus added that the session proved the team's fears about the circuit not suiting their car. “This lap simply was the maximum I could get out of the car in qualifying. We knew before this would be a quite difficult circuit for us, and today's qualifying just proved this again. From where I saw it, the track got worse over the course of the two sessions. Normally it's getting better towards the end, but this time the grip just didn't come. Being a second behind the man on pole is tough. But we will fight in Sunday's races.”
Priaulx will be hoping he can make up places and get into the top eight and onto the reverse grid for Race Two, which he has done many times already this season. “It is going to be a big scrap this weekend, and we have worked very hard today. I was expecting to be between eighth and 12th, and we are eighth and ninth, which is what we expected. It is always a tough track for us in qualifying, so we have to turn that into points tomorrow, it's as simple as that.”
