Jeroen Bleekemolen clinches pole position

Stuttgart. The title defender is back on track: Securing the fastest time in qualifying, Jeroen Bleekemolen takes up round three of the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup from pole position for the first time this season. During qualifying on the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona, the Dutchman was 0.302 seconds faster than Britain’s Sean Edwards (Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit) at the wheel of his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup fielded by Al Faisal Lechner Racing. Claiming the third quickest time in qualifying, Austria’s Norbert Siedler (VELTINS MRS Racing) tackles Sunday’s race from the second row.

Putting in a strong performance early on in the season is a familiar face in the Porsche Mobil1 Supercup: Driving for the Bleekemolen Harders Plaza squad, Jaap van Lagen, who secured one victory and three second places back in the 2008 Supercup, starts from fourth on the grid at his comeback to the world’s fastest international brand trophy series. With this, the Dutchman relegated his compatriot and four-time Supercup champion Patrick Huisman (Konrad Motorsport) as well as his British teammate Nick Tandy, leader of the BBS rookie classification, to the third grid row.

For René Rast from Germany (Al Faisal Lechner Racing), the qualifying session on the 4.656 kilometre Grand Prix circuit didn’t run as smoothly as expected. After winning both rounds in Bahrain from pole position, Rast had to settle for the seventh quickest time and a grid position in the fourth row. Taking up the race alongside Rast is Jan Seyffarth (Germany) piloting a VELTINS MRS Racing 911 GT3 Cup. Ninth fastest in qualifying for the season’s first Supercup race on European soil was nabbed by Tim Bridgman (Schnabl Engineering Team Parker Racing). Rounding off the top ten on the grid is Slovakian Stefan Rosina (Lechner Racing), who currently sits second in the overall standings behind Rast.

Jeroen Bleekemolen (pole-sitter): “I’m very happy with my first pole position of the season. The team really deserves this. Yesterday in free practice we weren’t very pleased, but obviously today we hit the right note and changed the right things.”

Sean Edwards (second in qualifying): “Just one off pole – I can easily live with that. We’ve made great strides since the beginning of the season – thanks to my whole team. I’m confident we can repeat our good qualifying result in the race tomorrow. Then everything is possible.”

Norbert Siedler (third in qualifying): “Third place is great. In my fastest lap I was held up slightly, otherwise perhaps it would have been good enough for the first row. Still, we’re forging ahead and I really notice this. Now I want to turn it into a podium place tomorrow.”

Qualifying
1. Jeroen Bleekemolen (NL), Al Faisal Lechner Racing, 1:50.102 minutes
2. Sean Edwards (GB), Team Abu Dhabi by tolimit, + 0.302 seconds
3. Norbert Siedler (A), VELTINS MRS Racing, + 0.561
4. Jaap van Lagen (NL), Team Bleekemolen Harders Plaza, + 0.610
5. Patrick Huisman (NL) Konrad Motorsport, + 0.704
6. Nicholas Tandy (GB), Konrad Motorsport, +0.754

 

Sean Edwards will be lucky to hang on to 1st after he rear ended Bleekamolen in the final race.

Exciting finish that's for sure!!