Kobayashi wins qualification race
By Jonathan Noble |
Saturday, November 18th 2006, 05:56 GMT |
Kamui Kobayashi dominated the qualification race for the Macau Grand Prix on Saturday, finishing 3.333 seconds ahead of Marko Asmer.
The Japanese driver, who started from pole position, briefly lost the lead at the start but made the most of the slipstreaming potential on the run to Lisboa to move back to the front.
From there he did not look back as he steadily extended his lead over Asmer, who had moved up from fourth to second off the start - helped in part by third place starter Romain Grosjean stalling on the grid.
Asmer came under intense pressure from Kohei Hirate over the second half of the race, but held him off to secure a front row start for tomorrow's main event.
Paul di Resta fought hard to take fourth place, with Kodai Tsukakoshi finishing fifth after a thrilling race-long battle with eventual sixth placed finisher Adrian Sutil. Briton Mike Conway, who set the fastest lap, finished seventh after a stirring drive from 11th on the grid.
There was big disappointment from Sebastian Vettel, who failed to make an impression from ninth on the grid. He eventually ended up against the wall on the penultimate lap.
Results Pos Driver Make Time
1. Kamui Kobayashi Dallara Mercedes-HWA 22:45.199
2. Marko Asmer Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 3.333
3. Kohei Hirate Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 3.935
4. Paul Di Resta Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 6.715
5. Kodai Tsukakoshi Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 9.714
6. Adrian Sutil Dallara Toyota-TOM'S + 10.328
7. Mike Conway Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 10.892
8. Kazuki Nakajima Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 12.686
9. Richard Antinucci Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 15.517
10. Charlie Kimball Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 15.950
11. Oliver Jarvis Dallara Honda-Mugen NB + 17.756
12. Sebastien Buemi Dallara Honda-Mugen NB + 19.495
13. Stephen Jelley Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 20.181
14. Daisuke Ikeda Dallara Toyota-TOM'S + 21.526
15. Romain Grosjean Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 22.476
16. Kazuya Oshima Dallara Toyota-TOM'S + 35.924
17. Mauro Massironi Dallara Honda-Mugen NB + 42.497
18. Maximo Cortes Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 42.802
19. James Winslow Dallara Toyota-TOM'S + 45.174
20. James Jakes Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 45.486
21. Roldan Rodriguez Dallara Mercedes-HWA + 46.310
22. Fabio Carbone Dallara Nissan + 1:09.008
23. Michael Ho Dallara Honda-Mugen NB + 1:19.886
24. Rodolfo Avila Dallara Honda-Mugen NB + 1:30.749
25. Cheong Lou Meng Dallara Honda-Mugen NB + 1:50.156
26. Lei Kit Meng Dallara Opel-Spiess + 2:16.132
27. Jo Merszei Dallara Toyota-TOM's + 1 LAP
Not classified:
Sebastian Vettel Dallara Honda-Mugen NB D.N.F.
Jonathan Kennard Dallara Honda-Mugen NB D.N.F.
Yelmer Buurman Dallara Mercedes-HWA D.N.F.
Robert Streit Dallara Mercedes-HWA D.N.F.
Maro Engel Dallara Honda-Mugen NB D.N.F.
Fastest Lap: Mike Conway Dallara Mercedes-HWA 2:13.457
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