Hegewald clinches first pole at Brands Hatch

Date published : 23 Jul 2011 - 09:30:00

GPUpdateHegewald clinches first pole at Brands Hatch23 July 2011 Tobias Hegewald will start from pole position for this afternoon's first Formula 2 race of the weekend at Brands Hatch. After setting the quickest lap time in Saturday morning's qualifying session, the German will line up ahead of Spaniard Ramón Piñeiro and Italian championship leader Mirko Bortolotti. Somewhat amazingly, the top 14 cars are all covered by a single second, promising a dramatic opening race of the weekend in Kent this afternoon. Hegewald's leading effort of 1:16.119 came as stiff challenges from those behind were affected either by traffic or minor driver errors. The session was not incident-free, as a Paddock Hill Bend spin for Korean Sunghak Mun triggered an early red flag period; during the stoppage, a number of runners decided to pit for fresh tyres. With Bortolotti soon going P1, highest-placed Briton Jack Clarke was fourth, with Bortolotti coming into contact with Alex Brundle who will start fifth. Mihai Marinescu, Miki Monras, Benjamin Lariche, Christopher Zanella and Max Snegirev complete the top ten. 'I really like the circuit - it has a lot of fast corners and it was one of my most fun qualifying laps,' pole-sitter Hegewald commented. 'I was struggling a little bit in qualifying at the start of the season and I couldn't get the best out of the new tyres. 'I have been fourth, fifth or sixth (in qualifying so far this season) so it has been difficult to get a good position in the race. I think I've found a good way to use the tyres.' Post-qualifying development:Grid penalty drops Bortolotti to eighth Race 1 begins at 1:50pm local time (BST)