Gabriele Covini has claimed pole position in a second session which was twice interrupted by red flags, with the majority of the field unable to set competitive times around the 7km circuit, leading to a very mixed up grid for Sunday morning’s second TCR Europe Cup race.

Leonel Pernía set the first benchmark at the start of the session, and was one of just two cars to get to the finish line before the session was red-flagged when the PMA Motorsport Audi of Nicola Baldan stopped at Blanchimont with a technical issue.

The session then resumed with nine minutes to go, with Covini jumping to the top of the time sheets with a time of 2:26.839, while Pernía improved on his time but was still 1.1 seconds away from Covini’s Hyundai.

The rival Hyundai of Junui Park’s lap time was deleted for track limit violation at Eau Rouge, while Victor Fernández then lost his time due to an infraction at Blanchimont, before the session was red-flagged again when Sandro Pelatti’s CUPRA stopped on circuit with just under three minutes remaining.

With no time left to restart the session, the chequered flag was called, and Covini secured pole position by over a second over Pernía, while Giacomo Prandelli qualified a career-best third, despite being three seconds off the pace.

Prandelli’s AIKOA Racing team-mate Rubén Fernández will start from fourth ahead of Sergio López’s RC2 Racing Team Honda, while Pelatti initially qualified in sixth ahead of Viktor Andersson, who had also not set a competitive time before the red flag and was 30 seconds down. Pelatti later lost his best time due to causing the red flag with his off at Raidillon.

Victor Fernández, Junui Park, and Nicola Baldan all haven’t set times, and with Andersson outside of 107%, all four drivers will be seeking stewards’ dispensation to start the race.

The first race with Covini’s co-driver Alex Ley starting from pole will get underway at 17:25 CEST, and will be live on YouTube.

Qualifying 2 result
 

1 – Gabriele Covini – BRC Racing Team – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – 2:26.839
2 – Leonel Pernía – Squadra Martino – Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR - +1.130
3 – Giacomo Prandelli – AIKOA Racing – Audi RS 3 LMS - +2.888
4 – Rubén Fernández – AIKOA Racing – Audi RS 3 LMS - +3.518
5 – Sergio López – RC2 Racing Team – Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR - +4.383
6 – Viktor Andersson – Monlau Motorsport – CUPRA Leon VZ TCR - +31.358
7 – Sandro Pelatti – PMA Motorsport – CUPRA Leon VZ TCR - No time
8 – Victor Fernández – RC2 Racing Team – Honda Civic Type R FL5 TCR – No time
9 – Junui Park – Solite Indigo Racing – Hyundai Elantra N TCR – No time
10 – Nicola Baldan – PMA Motorsport – Audi RS 3 LMS – No time