Vitantonio Liuzzi has claimed his first pole position in the International Superstars Series after defeating local hero and one-off entrant Norbert Michelisz in qualifying at the Hungaroring.
CAAL Racing Mercedes C63 AMG driver Liuzzi finished up four tenths clear of World Touring Car ace Michelisz, driving a Scuderia Giudici-prepared BMW M3 E92.
“We are really satisfied,” said Liuzzi, “because this track is one of the least suitable for our car, although we already know that it won’t be easy tomorrow. After Mugello we continued to develop our Mercedes C63 AMG and this result shows that we are definitely on the right path.”
Gianni Morbidelli was on top for a good part of the session but had to settle for third in his Audi Sport Italia RS5, 0.66 seconds off pole.
Morbidelli's fellow Audi driver Thomas Schoffler took fourth a tenth further back, the German youngster edging out BMW man Thomas Biagi by just 0.016s.
Debutant Christian Klien took sixth in the #1 Swiss Team Maserati Quattroporte, ahead of championship leader Johan Kristoffersson (Audi).
Stefano Gabellini took eighth in his BMW, ahead of Mercedes driver Camilo Zurcher and Jaguar driver Max Pigoli.
Francesco Sini and Andrea Larini, the winners of the races last time out at Mugello, qualified down in 11th and 12th.