Ford in Q2 again, but struggling for pace

Arena Motorsport made it through to the second part of qualifying for the third consecutive weekend, but it was a tougher task this weekend with both cars struggling at the Hungaroring.

James Nash ended Q1 12th fastest, just 0.044 seconds up on Engstler Motorsport’s Charles Ng, but that was enough to get the Ford driver into Q2, where on his single run his time would again be 12th fastest, securing that position on both of the grids tomorrow.

P12 was a welcome result after Nash was 21st in the second practice session, only just ahead of team-mate Tom Chilton.

“It didn’t go our way in free practices this morning and we’ve got a few handling issues,” said Nash to TouringCarTimes. “Every time we look at tyres or set-up we’re making small improvements but we can’t work quick enough at the minute.”

“Getting into top 12 is always the aim and considering what we’ve been through and the changes we’ve had to make,” referring to the car’s new suspension, “it’s not a bad place.”

Team-mate Tom Chilton qualified in 21st place but will be elevated to 19th after the exclusion of the two ROAL Motorsport BMWs.