Gerstl and Hauser book Poles
Clear skies, fast cars, and a red flag – the BOSS GP qualifying session at the TT Circuit in Assen had everything it takes – Ingo Gerstl (OPEN Class) and Gary Hauser (FORMULA Class) will start from Pole
Championship leader Gerstl set an incredible lap time of 1:18.852 minutes, but was “slightly discontent having missed the track record by a tenth. Regardless, starting from pole is of course great for the race.”
Local hero Klaas Zwart was pushed by the massive support of the Dutch fans and finished runner-up 0.12 seconds behind Gerstl. Panoz DP01 ChampCar driver Peter Milavec completed the Top 3 ahead of the second Dutchman Frits van Eerd.
Wolfgang Jaksch, who was lightning quick in free practice, dropped back to P5 in his Benetton and was „a bit clueless. I should easily have lapped the track in 1:27.00 minutes. I was on fresh tires and still couldn’t go any quicker.”
The FORMULA Class was dominated by Gary Hauser, who confirmed his top form from the earlier session. The former champion outpaced Mexican Luis Michael Dorrbecker and category standings leader Christopher Brenier.
”I can keep up with Gary in the fast corners, but he is lightning quick on the straights. So P2 is fine for the time being. A podium in the first race is the target”, Dorrbecker said.
Zele Racing driver Christof von Grünigen couldn’t get a perfect lap and thus will start further down the grid. “It’s a pity. I made a mistake in the hairpin which cost me a lot of time. P3 should have been possible. Now it’s all out attack in the race.”
The session was red flagged, when Christian Eicke and Henk de Boer collided. Eicke was on the brakes too late, hit the curbs and spun in his GP2 car hitting de Boer when bouncing back onto the track.
“The chassis is broken. It’s sad, but our weekend is over,” Eicke was devastated. De Boer’s team “will have to be looking for spare parts. If we find all we need, we should get the car going by the start of the race.”