First qualifying: Tracy on pole

Despite the Player's Forsythe Racing driver having a shunt at the end of the second free practice session, he has looked on the pace from the outset and it was no surprise when he took the pole.

"We have been fortunate to start on the front row for every race this year," Tracy said. "The car was quick as we hit the track this morning and we kept the pace."

The drivers ran oval-style single lap qualifying, with each having four full laps of the circuit. However, with the temperature noticeably lower than this morning, the drivers struggled to get heat into their tyres, and were only able to push hard on the last of their laps.

Bruno Junqueira claimed second position, ahead of his Newman/Haas team-mate Sebastien Bourdais. The Brazilian was surprised at the amount of wing Tracy used for qualifying. To save on transportation costs on the European trip, teams are required to use the same wing settings for both European races, at Brands and the Lausitzring oval in Germany. Junqueira opted to run quite a trim car, in order to maximise straight-line speed, which compromised his performance around the twists and turns of Brands.

Rookie Bourdais already has two pole positions to his credit, but was happy with third position. "I tried to be in a good place," he said. "I made a small mistake on my last lap though. It's difficult to know how the car will be for the race, but we are in a good position for tomorrow's final qualifying."

Oriol Servia was fourth fastest, ahead of local hero Darren Manning. The Walker Racing star was the fastest of the drivers running Reynard chassis.

Paul Tracy Forsythe Lola 37.006s
Bruno Junqueira Newman/Haas Lola 37.022s
Sebastien Bourdais Newman/Haas Lola 37.112s
Oriol Servia Patrick Lola 37.254s
Darren Manning Walker Reynard 37.565s
Patrick Carpentier Forsythe Lola 37.580s
Alex Tagliani Rocketsports Lola 37.790s
Adrian Fernandez Fernandez Lola 37.871s
Michel Jourdain Rahal Lola 37.928s
Mario Dominguez Herdez Lola 37.978s