Pierre Ragues will line up third on the grid for this afternoon’s three hours of Hungaroring after a wet qualifying session this morning that was severely hampered by red and yellow flags.

 

Pierre’s Signatech-Alpine team-mate Nelson Panciatici was on qualifying duties for the team and set a solid opening lap of 2m12.251s but his subsequent runs were interrupted by the flags which prevented him from improving further. Nonetheless, in a session that was held in tricky conditions the third place result gives the team a strong position from which to progress in the race.

 

Pierre will be taking the start and will draw confidence from the overall competitiveness of the Michelin-equipped A450 car this weekend which saw the team set the benchmark pace in the dry on Friday. The weather remains one of the unknown factors for the race this afternoon but Signatech-Alpine will be ready to chase the podium whatever happens.

 

Pierre commented: “It was a really tough qualifying session in difficult cold and wet conditions. Nelson did a good job to get us third on the grid and he would almost certainly have improved further without the interruptions from yellow and red flags. It is hard enough to get a clean lap at this narrow track in dry conditions but with the addition of caution flags, it becomes a real lottery. I am looking forward to taking the start this afternoon and hopefully to set a competitive pace like we did in yesterday’s practice. We know the Signatech-Alpine A450 and Michelin tyres are competitive here but we now need to see what the weather has in store for us. I am confident we can fight for the podium in any eventuality.”