Gatting and Paulsen fastest in Race-1 qualifying

Michelle Gatting (Scuderia Niki – Iron Lynx) claimed a surprise pole in Trofeo Pirelli Race-1 qualifying at Misano. In the Am class, Frederik Paulsen (Formula Racing) finished in pole despite ending his session early in the gravel.

Trofeo Pirelli. On her first outing in the Ferrari Challenge since the first round at Imola, Michelle Gatting (Scuderia Niki - Iron Lynx) snatched pole position from Emanuele Maria Tabacchi (Rossocorsa) with a time of 1:35.747. The Italian, who went out on track for the last ten minutes of the session, finished just 274 thousandths of a second behind his rival. Tabacchi didn't have the chance to perform at his best, as proceedings were interrupted less than eight minutes before the end to allow the removal of Frederik Paulsen's car (Formula Racing) stuck in the gravel. The little time remaining and the traffic in the last few minutes limited the championship leader. Third time in class, fourth overall, went to Florian Merckx (Baron Motorsport), who managed to recover after he was forced to pit in the early stages to replace his right rear tyre. Rookie Tim Kohmann (Kessel Racing) finished fourth in class and sixth overall.

Trofeo Pirelli Am. The Am class saw a very lively qualifying session, with several drivers taking turns at the top. The eventual winner was class leader Frederik Paulsen, who, despite his early exit, held off the assaults of his rivals with a time of 1:36.363, the third-fastest overall. Frederik Espersen (Baron Motorsport) got the better of Matús Vyboh (Scuderia Praha) to seal second place on the grid. Vincenzo Potolicchio (Rossocorsa) took fourth spot on his series debut, just ahead of Olivier Grotz (Formula Racing) who was the fastest in class for most of the session.

Programme. The light will go out for Trofeo Pirelli Race-1 at 5:20 pm on Saturday 26 September. The race will be live-streamed on races.ferrari.com