Saturday in Jarama Part 1 – Kiss gets pole, but it’s close

02. October 2021Jarama - As the sun arose over Circuito del Jarama shortly before 8:00 this morning, the paddock was already bustling with activity. The teams were busy preparing for a long day’s work with free practice, qualifying, and the two races to come.
The way it’s shaped up so far, this is going to be one very long day indeed. In FP1 a couple of hours later, Brit Shane Brereton’s MAN skidded off in the final corner and hit the barrier heavily, bringing the red flags out barely eight minutes into the session. It took more than an hour for the truck to be recovered, the barrier repaired, and the session to be restarted.
Norbert Kiss, having set the top time in the first leg, went even quicker, setting the fastest times in each of the three sectors to clock 1:57.645, the best lap of the day so far. Adam Lacko was next on the monitor, with Sascha Lenz, Jochen Hahn, and Antonio Albacete all within a second of his time.
In FP2 it was Lenz who took top spot, above Kiss, Hahn, Lacko, and Albacete.
Qualifying was rescheduled to 14:05, and with temperatures in the shade already touching 30°C, tyre conservation was the top priority. The Top 10, consisting of Kiss, Hahn, Lacko, Lenz, Albacete, Calvet, Rodrigues, Kursim Halm, and Reinert all came in after just one flying lap apiece.
Kiss went three tenths quicker in the Super Pole to claim pole position, Lenz coming as close as a quarter of a second to line up alongside the Hungarian on front row.
Hahn and Lacko will start from the second row of the grid, followed by Albacete, Calvet, Kursim, Rodrigues, Reinert, and Halm.