Julien Briché cautioned against his title chances for the TCR Europe title at Monza, despite the Peugeot driver claiming his first pole in the series to cut Josh Files’ points lead.
Briché was a comfortable four tenths faster than fellow Peugeot driver Aurélien Comte at Monza on Saturday morning, as the 308 drivers found significantly more pace than they had shown on Friday.
Briché thus cut the championship gap by five points to 43 points, although even if he was to win Saturday’s opening race the Frenchman would still be unable to take the lead heading into the season finale.
“I’m really very happy – it’s the first pole position for me and it’s a good one,” said Briché. “It’s great to be on pole position here at Monza because I love this circuit.
“Obviously, this is only part of the work and it will be a lot more complicated in the race.
“Comte helped me a little in Qualifying and so we will both start from the front row.
“It’s a good position to be in for the race and so far everything has gone well. For the championship it will be very difficult, but we will take things one race at a time.”
Briché said that part of the reason for his upturn in form since Friday’s practice sessions was that they had a problem with the brakes yesterday.
“Yesterday we had a little problem with the brakes, which we were able to resolve today. Then I was able to get a time with a good tow, so it’s very good.
“We worked closely with the other Peugeots, so I have to thank Aurélien for the tow he gave me. For me, it was perfect.”