Yann Ehrlacher dominates incident-packed Vila Real qualifying to claim pole

Cyan Racing driver Yann Ehrlacher gave no chance to his rivals and claimed the pole position at Vila Real after a qualifying session marked by several red flag interruptions.

There was drama at the BRC Squadra Corse camp before the session was green, as Néstor Girolami had a fuel leak issue that prevented him from participating in the session.

The Q1 was halted with a red flag as GOAT Racing driver Dusan Borkovic suffered a drive shaft issue and went straight into a run-off area. The Serbian driver recovered and was able to return to the pits on his own power.

The session went green again, with Cyan Racing taking all top four positions, with Santiago Urrutia, Thed Björk and Ma Qing Hua settling behind Ehrlacher.

The session was red-flagged for a second time with eight and a half minutes remaining after Borkovic went onto two wheels after jumping the chicane and touched the barriers. Again, the Serbian returned to the pits by himself, without any significant damage to his Honda.

The Q1 ended with yet another red flag as SP Compètition driver Manuel Fernandes crashed into the barriers, leaving his Cupra Leon VZ TCR stranded in the middle of the track.

The Q2 session started with a 20-minute delay due to the barrier repair works after Fernandes’ accident, as clouds came over the track and the temperature decreased dramatically.

Ehrlacher performed a strong first lap to lead the charts with 1:59.547 as Azcona claimed second place, seven-tenths off the pace, and Guerrieri a further tenth behind in third.

Urrutia could only manage fourth place on his first attempt ahead of Comte and Michelisz, with independent Lynk & Co driver Viktor Andersson in seventh.

The entire field returned to the pits for a tyre change and returned to the track with six minutes left on the clock.

Azcona did a strong last attempt with several purple sectors, but contact with the barriers after the chicane meant that he improved his lap time but not his position.

Guerrieri manage to improve his lap time on his last attempt, with Urrutia rising to second place.

As the chequered flag fell, Ehrlacher claimed the pole position followed by Urrutia and Guerrieri, with Azcona in fourth place.

Comte qualified fifth, followed by Michelisz, Andersson, Björk, Ma and Montenegro.

The FIA TCR World Tour field returns to the track on Sunday at 12:00 local time for Race 1 (13:00 CEST).