Hell Energy with KCMG secured a vital front row lock out for the opening TCR Europe contest at Barcelona, with Attila Tassi’s final flying effort enough to edge out Josh Files by 0.041 seconds.
With just 7 points splitting them from closest rivals Target Competition in the Teams’ title race heading into the session – and the Hyundai outfit’s best starter just fourth – it could prove a pivotal half-hour in the final reckoning.
A best effort of 1:53.861 seconds around the 2.8 mile Catalan circuit proved enough for the Hungarian, with championship leader Mikel Azcona third behind the Honda Civic Type R pairing.
Crucially, however, Team WRT’s Jean-Karl Vernay failed to qualifying for the second part of qualifying and will start in 13th in the Audi RS 3 LMS.
With a three point bonus for Azcona courtesy of qualifying third, the Spaniard’s lead in the title race now rises to 22 points, and securing the crown this afternoon at 17:30 CEST Qunow seems a likely outcome.
Qualifying 1
It was Hyundai, however, that started the session strongest, at one stage occupying a 1-2-3-4-5-6 lockout courtesy of flying efforts from Target pairing Dusan Borkovic and Kris Richard, M1RA’s Daniel Nagy and Norbert Michelisz and the remaining two Target machines of Peter Terting and Reece Barr.
Julien Briche’s Peugeot 308 TCR broke the trend, however, sparking a flurry of improvements.
Files was first, followed by compatriot and 2017 British Touring Car Champion Ash Sutton in third and fourth respectively, before Azcona lit up the first and final sectors to go top.
In contrasting fashion, Vernay failed to overhaul Barr’s ‘cut-off’ time by 0.045 seconds, putting the Frenchman’s down in the midfield mire.
There was another notably positive showing from TCR UK Vice-Champion Ollie Taylor in P17, whilst elsewhere Stefano Comini could only manage P26.
Tassi, Files, Azcona, Borkovic, Michelisz, Sutton, Richard, Nagy, Mike Halder, Terting, Briche and Barr were the lucky twelve to advance to Q2.
Qualifying 2
With the title race taking a potentially decisive switch in Azcona’s favour, the attention turned in Q2 to the battle between Target and KCMG.
Files was quickest of the ‘first flyers’, setting a benchmark of 1:53.902 – a tenth slower than the fastest time in Q1.
Everyone tried – and failed – to best that effort in a relatively tame session, save for Tassi with a last-gasp effort to go 0.041 seconds quicker.
That means KCMG lock out the front row ahead of Champion-elect Azcona and Borkovic, with Michelisz and Sutton for company behind in fifth and sixth respectively.
Richard will start seventh alongside Nagy in an all-Hyundai affair, with the final KCMG car of Halder ninth. Terting rounds out a top ten largely dominated by the two outfits, with Briche and Barr eleventh and twelfth.
The opening race of the weekend gets underway at 17:30 CEST.
Q2 results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 9 | Attila TASSI |  |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 6 | 1:53.861 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 99 | Josh FILES |  |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 6 | 1:53.902 | 0.041 |
| 3 | 25 | Mikel AZCONA |  |
PCR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 4 | 1:54.167 | 0.306 |
| 4 | 62 | Dušan BORKOVIĆ |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 6 | 1:54.186 | 0.325 |
| 5 | 555 | Norbert MICHELISZ | |
M1RA | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 6 | 1:54.198 | 0.337 |
| 6 | 116 | Ashley SUTTON | |
WestCoast Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 5 | 1:54.367 | 0.506 |
| 7 | 94 | Kris RICHARD |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 6 | 1:54.385 | 0.524 |
| 8 | 999 | Dániel NAGY | |
M1RA | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 6 | 1:54.461 | 0.600 |
| 9 | 909 | Mike HALDER |  |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 6 | 1:54.473 | 0.612 |
| 10 | 15 | Peter TERTING | |
Autodis Racing by Piro Sports | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 6 | 1:54.521 | 0.660 |
| 11 | 4 | Julien BRICHÉ |  |
JSB Compétition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 6 | 1:54.629 | 0.768 |
| 12 | 8 | Reece BARR |  |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 4 | 1:54.899 | 1.038 |
Q1 results
| POS | NO | DRIVER | NAT | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 25 | Mikel AZCONA | |
PCR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 8 | 1:53.802 | 0.000 |
| 2 | 116 | Ashley SUTTON | |
WestCoast Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 8 | 1:53.996 | 0.194 |
| 3 | 62 | Dušan BORKOVIĆ | |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 8 | 1:54.057 | 0.255 |
| 4 | 94 | Kris RICHARD | |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 6 | 1:54.098 | 0.296 |
| 5 | 555 | Norbert MICHELISZ | |
M1RA | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 7 | 1:54.161 | 0.359 |
| 6 | 909 | Mike HALDER | |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 8 | 1:54.226 | 0.424 |
| 7 | 99 | Josh FILES | |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 7 | 1:54.238 | 0.436 |
| 8 | 9 | Attila TASSI | |
Hell Energy Racing with KCMG | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 8 | 1:54.238 | 0.436 |
| 9 | 999 | Dániel NAGY | |
M1RA | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 8 | 1:54.336 | 0.534 |
| 10 | 4 | Julien BRICHÉ | |
JSB Compétition | Peugeot 308 TCR | 8 | 1:54.466 | 0.664 |
| 11 | 15 | Peter TERTING | |
Autodis Racing by Piro Sports | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 8 | 1:54.595 | 0.793 |
| 12 | 8 | Reece BARR | |
Target Competition | Hyundai i30 N TCR | 8 | 1:54.627 | 0.825 |
| 13 | 69 | Jean-Karl VERNAY | |
Leopard Lukoil Team | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 8 | 1:54.672 | 0.870 |
| 14 | 88 | Maxime POTTY |  |
Comtoyou Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 9 | 1:54.776 | 0.974 |
| 15 | 34 | Stian PAULSEN |  |
Stian Paulsen Racing | CUPRA TCR | 9 | 1:54.817 | 1.015 |
| 16 | 19 | Andreas BÄCKMAN |  |
WestCoast Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 8 | 1:54.931 | 1.129 |
| 17 | 32 | Ollie TAYLOR | |
Pyro Motorsport | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 9 | 1:55.006 | 1.204 |
| 18 | 223 | Nathanaël BERTHON | |
Comtoyou Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR | 5 | 1:55.145 | 1.343 |
| 19 | 23 | Francisco ABREU |  |
Sports & You | Peugeot 308 TCR | 10 | 1:55.161 | 1.359 |
| 20 | 5 | Klim GAVRILOV |  |
LTA Rally | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 9 | 1:55.162 | 1.360 |
| 21 | 126 | Jessica BÄCKMAN | |
WestCoast Racing | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 9 | 1:55.307 | 1.505 |
| 22 | 11 | Jens Reno MØLLER |  |
Reno Racing | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 10 | 1:55.447 | 1.645 |
| 23 | 38 | Danny KROES |  |
PCR Sport | CUPRA TCR | 9 | 1:55.475 | 1.673 |
| 24 | 22 | Petr FULÍN |  |
Fullin Race Academy | CUPRA TCR | 8 | 1:55.649 | 1.847 |
| 25 | 10 | Viktor DAVIDOVSKY |  |
PSS Racing Team | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 10 | 1:55.658 | 1.856 |
| 26 | 42 | Stefano COMINI | |
Autodis Racing by THX | Honda Civic Type R FK7 TCR | 10 | 1:56.035 | 2.233 |
| 27 | 17 | Martin RYBA |  |
Brutal Fish Racing Team | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 10 | 1:56.764 | 2.962 |
| 28 | 35 | Munkong SATHIENTHIRAKUL |  |
Monlau Competición | CUPRA TCR | 8 | 1:56.776 | 2.974 |
| 29 | 111 | Nikola MILJKOVIĆ | |
LEIN Racing | CUPRA TCR | 9 | 1:56.869 | 3.067 |
| 30 | 27 | Enrique HERNANDO | |
Sports & You | Peugeot 308 TCR | 9 | 1:57.069 | 3.267 |
| 31 | 28 | Jean-Laurent NAVARRO | |
MN Développement | Volkswagen Golf GTi TCR | 8 | 1:57.127 | 3.325 |
| 32 | 21 | Marie BAUS-COPPENS | |
JSB Compétition | CUPRA TCR DSG | 10 | 1:57.620 | 3.818 |