Pieter Zeelie’s setup changes on the Toyota MR2 are clearly working, as he was the first Modified Saloon Car driver to go under 38 seconds, posting a time of 37.720 sec in the fifth qualifying session. This is just seven-tenths off his current record of 37.090 seconds from last year.
Most of Zeelie’s rivals went slightly slower in Q5, with Franco Scribante on 38.891 seconds and Aldo Scribante on 40.151 seconds. Unfortunately, Gary Martin retired his triple-turbo diesel BMW M2 50d after one of the turbochargers failed, leading to a delay for the session as the oil was cleaned up.
Clint Weston remains unbeaten in the Road Car and Supercar category, setting the fourth-best overall time of the Q5 session in the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance (42.614 sec), around three-tenths off his fastest run. Cristiano Verolini was consistent in 2nd place (44.129 sec), ahead of Jens Klingmann (45.273 sec).
None of the major contenders in the single-seater category went out in Q5.
