Yelmer sixth on the grid
16-07-2011
Yelmer didn’t use new tyres in free practice like some others did. He was convinced he would charge through the qualifications. But it started not too good for him. He just had exited the pit-lane for his warm-up lap when Antonio Pizzonia approached at full speed. Yelmer moved over to let the Brazilian by but apparently Pizzonia didn’t agree with Yelmer’s behaviour judged his move as being too late because when Yelmer was in his fast lap, the Brazilian blocked him. “I don’t understand his move”, Yelmer said. “Normally I get along well with Antonio and I thought I have left him enough room”. As a result Yelmer aborted his flying lap and had to set off for another attempt. In the dying seconds he made another run which resulted in second fastest time, a mere 0,010 seconds shy of John Martin’s fastest time. In the quarter final Yelmer had to taken on Neel Jani in the RSC Anderlecht car. Unfortunately he stranded at 0.788 seconds. “Just bad luck. I am convinced that if Antonio wouldn’t have blocked me I would have set the fastest time in the session and therefore avoid Neel Jani. After the group qualification my team changed my front
wing setting but that didn’t work. I had mighty understeer in the Bianchi corner, suddenly changing into snappy oversteer. So I knew I had lost a few tenths and I tried too hard to make up for it. I then overshot the Hairpin corner and that was it. Really very disappointing. Anyway, tomorrow is another day and who knows what I can achieve. I wonder what kind of weather we’re going to have. Rain maybe?”
The first race starts at 11.10 hrs (GB time) and can be watched live on the Superleague Formula website.
Startgrid
1. England - Craig Dolby *
2. New Zealand – Chris van der Drift
3. Belgium – Neel Jani
4. Luxembourg - Frederic Vervisch
5. Japan - Robert Doornbos
6. Netherlands - Yelmer Buurman
7. Spain - Andy Soucek
8. Australia - John Martin
9. South Korea - Max Wissel
10. Czech Republic – Filip Salaquarda
11. Brazil - Antonio Pizzonia
12. Turkey - Duncan Tappy
13. France - Tristan Gommendy
14. Russia – Mikhail Aleshin
* After the qualifications the stewards of the meeting decided that Craig Dolby had received outside assistance in the pitlane just before the final shoot-out for pole-position and therefore demoted him to the second place, with Chris van der Drift as the new pole man.
