28/07/2006
NEWS STORY
Gimmi Bruni has taken pole in a thrilling qualifying contest this afternoon at Hockenheim. The Italian bagged his second pole position of the season by three tenths of a second from local hero Timo Glock with a lap of 1:22.588. The times were incredibly close and quick, with Gimmi's pole lap being just six seconds slower than the fastest Formula One drivers managed in the day's earlier practice sessions.
The session began with a flurry of activity as every one of the 26 GP2 series drivers made their way onto the circuit to make the best use of the rubber laid down in F1 practice. Giorgio Pantano was the initial provisional pole sitter, before Franck Perera stole that place from him. Giorgio was back up there again on the 10 minute mark however with the first sub 1:23 lap of 1:22.995 to lead Timo Glock, Franck, Gimmi, Ernesto Viso and Adam Carroll.
Five minutes later and Nelson Piquet Jr took provisional pole with a 1:22.928, only to see Timo steal it away from him with a 1:22.910. Lewis was now on his outlap, and at the end of his first flyer sat sixth. But while the cameras concentrated on the championship leader, it was Gimmi who was setting the track alight. The Italian had timed his run to perfection, getting the very most from his medium compound Bridgestone Potenza tyres, and screamed across the line to record the lap that would net him pole.
And so it was that Gimmi took his second pole of the year for Trident Racing, and the two points that go with it. Timo will line up next to him on the grid in second, with row two consisting of Nelson and Ernesto. Row three sees Giorgio and Franck side by side, with Lucas di Grassi seventh ahead of Lewis in eighth. Andreas Zuber and Alex Premat complete the top ten, with less than three quarters of a second separating them all.
Last time Gimmi took pole, in Imola, he won the race. To repeat that feat here in Hockenheim tomorrow would be a sweet reward for the Italian, but with the top 16 drivers covered by a second, the potential for a great race is tantalisingly high. Oh… and there's a rather large chance it could rain tomorrow afternoon. If the forecast proves correct, it really could be anyone's race.
Gimmi Bruni – Trident Racing: It was a good lap. I did a very good first and last sector so I expected to be in the first two… you just never know what the other guys are doing. It was the best I could do and in the end it was three tenths faster, so I'm very happy.
Timo Glock – iSport International: I'm second which means one guy is quicker than me and I can't be happy about that. I said from the beginning that I wanted to be on pole because Lopez beat me by two tenths in France and now Bruni beat me by three tenths. It's a good position for us though and I will try to win again.
Nelson Piquet Jr – Piquet Sports: I'm happy. I did a very good first lap and it was close at the front. I lost some time on the scales and then I didn't really find a good space for my second attempt. But anyway I think Gimmi's lap was very good. I don't know if I could have gone quicker but my car was great.