Dusan Borkovic takes commanding pole position in Oschersleben
Dusan Borkovic claimed pole position in a B3 Racing 1-2, finishing ahead of team-mate Mat’o Homola. The session was full of disallowed laps as the drivers exceeded track limits, but the Serbian was the only driver to lap under the 1:35′ barrier. Jean-Karl Vernay had finished third, but a disallowed lap meant James Nash inherited third for Craft-Bamboo Lukoil.
In Q1 Pepe Oriola set the fastest time, as the Spaniard was the only driver below the 1:35′ barrier in the first session. The Craft-Bamboo Lukoil driver made a late improvement, demoting Homola from the lead. Out from the second segment were WestCoast Racing’s Mikhail Grachev, Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Niklas Mackshin and Gary Sheenan, and Michela Cerruti, who had an issue on her Mulsanne Racing Alfa Romeo Giulietta TCR.
The second session started as the first had ended, with Sergey Afanasyev among the drivers who had disallowed laps. Several drivers exchanged the lead until Borkovic put in a stunning 1:34.872 with three minutes to go, which proved unbeatable. A second fast lap from the Serbian would still have been enough to put him on pole position.
Borkovic demoted team-mate Mat’o Homola, who finished second, ahead of James Nash, who benefitted from a penalty applied to Jean-Karl Vernay. Antti Buri conquered a stunning fourth place in his SEAT, ahead of Afanasyev who made a costly mistake on his best lap at the penultimate corner.
Gianni Morbidelli made a last-gasp improvement to sixth ahead of Leopard Racing’s Jean-Karl Vernay, with Pepe Oriola in eighth. Stefano Comini ended up ninth and on the front row for Race 2 as Davit Kajaia finished tenth in the Liqui Moly Team Engstler Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR.
