Mike Halder and his Halder Motorsport teammate Jack Young finished the two-stage Qualifying session ahead of the opening race of the 2022 TCR Europe series in first and second places in their Honda Civic cars, with the Target Competition Hyundai Elantra N of Nicola Baldan in third place. The reversed top-ten grid will see another Honda on pole for Race 2, with the Brutal Fish Racing Civic of Pepe Oriola having finished Qualifying in tenth place.

In the first stage of the session, it was Jáchym Galáš who was the first to set a competitive lap time, setting a 1:51.855 benchmark, with Klim Gavrilov in P2 (1:51.949) and John Filippi in P3 (1:51.951). Galáš’s HYUNDAI | Janík Motorsport teammate Mat’o Homola then briefly went quickest (1:51.697) before being pipped by Gavrilov with a 1:51.654. Isidro Callejas then moved into P3 with a lap of 1:51.811. Jack Young (1:51.534) and Tom Coronel (1:51.527) then took it in turns to top the timesheet.

With around ten minutes of Q1 remaining, Jack Young then went fastest again with a 1:51.464 while everyone else headed for the pits and a change of rubber. When they emerged, a frantic scramble for the top 12 places ensued, with first Gavrilov (1:51.366) and then Josh Files (1:51.350) going P1 and Franco Girolami going P3 behind the pair with a 1:51.419. In the final few minutes, Mike Halder went P11 with a 1:51.898 before Nicola Baldan edged him down to P12 and the last spot of the twelve drivers who would go through to Q2. Those twelve were Files, Gavrilov, Girolami, Young, Callejas, Coronel, John Filippi, Homola, Baldan, Oriola, Galáš and Mike Halder.

The ten-minute Q2 was then the usual scramble for positions, with Files setting the first quick lap time (1:51.680) although he was immediately beaten by Halder (1:51.488) with Oriola in P3 (1:51.843). First Gavrilov (1:51.470) and then Halder again (1:51.244) went P1 and this time the German driver wouldn’t be beaten. Behind Halder, Baldan (1:51.381) and then Young (1:51.371) went P2. Files had a late tyre change and started his last lap with around a minute left on the clock but could only set the 8^th fastest time of 1:51.625 while a small lock-up on Girolami’s last lap meant he would end the session in P6 with a best lap of 1:51.499.

Qualifying result

1.     Mike Halder (Halder Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R)   1:51.244

2.     Jack Young (Halder Motorsport, Honda Civic Type R)+0.127

3.     Nicola Baldan (Target Competition, Hyundai Elantra N)   +0.137

4.     Isidro Callejas (Volcano Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición)   +0.147

5.     Klim Gavrilov (Volcano Motorsport, CUPRA Leon Competición)   +0.226

6.     Franco Girolami (Comtoyou Racing, Audi RS 3 LMS TCR)   +0.255

Championship points

1. Mike Halder 10 pts; 2. Young 10 pts; 3. Gavrilov 8 pts; 4. Files 6 pts; Callejas 6 pts.

Race 1 is scheduled to start at 15.15 local time this afternoon (16.15CEST) and will be streamed live on TCR TV and the series’ social media platforms.