Max Mugelli dominates Mugello qualifying
Max Mugelli took pole at his home race at Mugello in his BMW M3 E92 after leading both practice sessions. The Tuscany-based driver was almost half a second quicker than team-mate Maurizio Copetti as the M3s enjoy a weight break of 20 kilos as well as a smaller air restrictor.
Nicola Baldan came a nice third in his Mercedes C63 AMG Coupè after making full use of team boss Nico Caldarola’s presence on the grid by using his slipstream. The Italian will line up next to Tomas Kostka’s Audi RS 5, just a blink of an eye slower than the Mercedes.
The third row will feature Davide Stancheris’ Audi as well as the first Chevrolet on the grid, Domenico Schiattarella’s Lumina. Niccolò Mercatali will start from seventh, next to Audi driver Ermanno Dionisio, while Diego Romanini’s Mercedes will line up with series leader Francesco Sini’s Chevrolet Camaro.
Sini came tenth and was not able to match the times he set in Free Practice, suggesting the Italian had a problem during the session.
The session looked close as Mugelli, who had set a laptime early in the session, stayed in the pits watching his opponents improving and even passing him. The BMW driver went back out with four minutes to go and improved by a massive 8 tenths, claiming his first pole position of the season.
Race 1 is scheduled for 10.00 CET and will last 25 minutes + 1 lap.
