Pommer grabs Nurburgring AutoGP pole

Markus Pommer used all his local knowledge to claim pole position for the Auto GP round in Germany in another wet session at the Nurburgring.

Meanwhile, championship leader Sato's hopes of claiming the title this weekend took a dive after a problematic qualifying session left him 11th and last on the grid for race one.

Pommer positioned himself well in a session where track position would be important whatever happened. At the start of the top 10 shootout it looked as though being last across the line on a drying track would be the right call. But then, just as the drivers completed their out-laps, heavy rain arrived, and the front of the train was the best spot.

Pommer was quickest as the pack completed their first laps, benefitting not just from a clear road but also from having just a corner or three more on a relatively dry track. The Super Nova International driver managed to improve again before the rain thoroughly doused the circuit, but after the second full tour it was clear that nobody was going to go any quicker. That left Pommer ahead of Kevin Giovesi (FMS Racing), Tamas Pal Kiss (Virtuosi UK) and Michela Cerruti (Super Nova) on the grid for race one.

Meanwhile, Euronova Racing driver Sato was kept in the pits by a brake problem until just a couple of minutes remained of the first half of qualifying, in which he needed to post a time to make the top-10 shootout.

He did eventually make it out in time, but the points leader then went off at Turn 1 on his first flying lap. That caused the first session to be red-flagged with two minutes to go, and it was not restarted, leaving Sato high and dry in last place.