Guerrieri puts Civic Type R TCR on pole in qualifying at Estoril
Circuito do EstorilEsteban Guerrieri gave the Honda Civic Type R TCR pole position for a second successive WTCR - FIA World Touring Car Cup round at the start of the 2021 season, heading a 1-2-3-5 for Münnich Motorsport cars in qualifying at Estoril.
Having been fastest in the opening part of qualifying, Esteban set up his route to top spot by advancing to the shootout session with the fourth-fastest time in Q2.
His fifth pole in the WTCR, secured by 0.117 seconds, owed much to a stunning run through the final sector of the 4.182-kilometre circuit, as he earned five points towards his Drivers’ Championship total.
The record WTCR wins holder will be joined on the front row of the grid for race two by Tiago Monteiro, who qualified his ALL-INKL.DE Münnich Motorsport Civic Type R TCR second fastest.
Home hero Tiago was fastest of all in Q2, and ran last of the five contenders in the shootout session as he slotted into second position. That matched his best qualifying result to date in the WTCR, having also secured that result at home in Vila Real in 2019 and at Honda’s home round at Suzuka the same year.
It meant the Nürburgring Nordschleife Race One winner made up two points on the championship leader and is now four shy of the summit.
Nestor Girolami, who took pole position at the Nürburgring three weeks ago, was third and within a quarter of a second of team-mate Esteban’s final time.
Having missed out on some track time in FP1, 'Bebu' was pleased to secure a second-row starting position and, like Tiago, also made up ground in the title hunt by out-qualifying the points leader.
Attila Tassi capped a fine day for the Civic Type R TCR quartet by qualifying fifth.
The 22-year-old, who was second in Q1 and third in Q2, ran third in the shootout session as he sealed starting positions that will give him two opportunities to score podiums; fifth in Q3 means he will start the reversed-grid race from sixth.
It's fantastic to come to a new track for the WTCR and secure pole. Before qualifying we'd had a good start with our preparation, and we're all pushing each other very hard which is an important part of being a team. Really, my final lap came down to a very good final sector - that was the highlight. Sector one and sector two were OK, but in sector three I had a bit of oversteer, so I had to recover and attacked the last sector quite a bit. I knew I needed to take a risk and it paid off. I'm very happy to secure this result for our mechanics and engineers who did a fantastic job, for Honda, and of course my family and my son Milo.
It's fantastic to come to a new track for the WTCR and secure pole. Before qualifying we'd had a good start with our preparation, and we're all pushing each other very hard which is an important part of being a team. Really, my final lap came down to a very good final sector - that was the highlight. Sector one and sector two were OK, but in sector three I had a bit of oversteer, so I had to recover and attacked the last sector quite a bit. I knew I needed to take a risk and it paid off. I'm very happy to secure this result for our mechanics and engineers who did a fantastic job, for Honda, and of course my family and my son Milo.
I'm very happy for the whole team and also my team-mates, we have all done a fantastic job. In the end I was pleased to secure third, especially after a bit of a delay in FP1 that cost me some track time. Tomorrow we have a good opportunity to score yet more points, especially after a strong start to the season in Germany. But we can't take anything for granted and it's important to have a good balance with these temperatures, particularly for the final sector which is very long and can destroy tyres quite quickly.
I'm very happy for the whole team and also my team-mates, we have all done a fantastic job. In the end I was pleased to secure third, especially after a bit of a delay in FP1 that cost me some track time. Tomorrow we have a good opportunity to score yet more points, especially after a strong start to the season in Germany. But we can't take anything for granted and it's important to have a good balance with these temperatures, particularly for the final sector which is very long and can destroy tyres quite quickly.
First of all, congratulations to the entire Münnich Motorsport team and to Honda. It was a real team effort, we've been working really hard and pushing each other a lot not just as drivers but also among the team, and that's evidently paying off at the moment. My Q3 lap was not the cleanest so I had some ground to recover at the end of it, but still it felt like a good lap. A front-row start for my home race is definitely something I will take. We can win from here, but we'll see what happens tomorrow as it's two long races that are bound to have some interesting challenges.
First of all, congratulations to the entire Münnich Motorsport team and to Honda. It was a real team effort, we've been working really hard and pushing each other a lot not just as drivers but also among the team, and that's evidently paying off at the moment. My Q3 lap was not the cleanest so I had some ground to recover at the end of it, but still it felt like a good lap. A front-row start for my home race is definitely something I will take. We can win from here, but we'll see what happens tomorrow as it's two long races that are bound to have some interesting challenges.
I'm happy to have played my part in this result for Honda and Münnich Motorsport. Although fifth is perhaps not the result I was hoping for, tomorrow is a new day and it does give me a starting position in not one but two races from which I can attack and fight for the top positions. The car seems to be working very well, but there is still a lot to think about for Sunday - especially considering the temperature we have experienced at the track so far - as we have not previously done a race here.
I'm happy to have played my part in this result for Honda and Münnich Motorsport. Although fifth is perhaps not the result I was hoping for, tomorrow is a new day and it does give me a starting position in not one but two races from which I can attack and fight for the top positions. The car seems to be working very well, but there is still a lot to think about for Sunday - especially considering the temperature we have experienced at the track so far - as we have not previously done a race here.
We are happy with this result, particularly from the team's perspective for the mechanics and engineers who gave the drivers four very good cars for qualifying. Esteban's pole position is a nice reward after the little bit of misfortune he had before Race Two in Germany, and it is great also that Tiago will start his home race from the front row of the grid. There is a lot to discuss tonight and before the races in the morning as this is only half of the job done, but we hope to have more good results to cheer about tomorrow evening.
We are happy with this result, particularly from the team's perspective for the mechanics and engineers who gave the drivers four very good cars for qualifying. Esteban's pole position is a nice reward after the little bit of misfortune he had before Race Two in Germany, and it is great also that Tiago will start his home race from the front row of the grid. There is a lot to discuss tonight and before the races in the morning as this is only half of the job done, but we hope to have more good results to cheer about tomorrow evening.
This is a great result for Münnich Motorsport, who can be very satisfied with the drivers' starting positions for tomorrow’s races. Hopefully that can be converted into more strong finishing positions to keep up the good start to the season from Germany. Because we had not previously raced at Estoril before with the Honda Civic Type R TCR we did not know what to expect coming into this weekend, but we can conclude from the pace we have seen today that the track is well suited to the characteristics of the car.
This is a great result for Münnich Motorsport, who can be very satisfied with the drivers' starting positions for tomorrow’s races. Hopefully that can be converted into more strong finishing positions to keep up the good start to the season from Germany. Because we had not previously raced at Estoril before with the Honda Civic Type R TCR we did not know what to expect coming into this weekend, but we can conclude from the pace we have seen today that the track is well suited to the characteristics of the car.
