Red-hot Ferrari give Maserati blues

Ferrari turned the tables on the headlines grabbing Maseratis by claiming pole position for today's FIA-GT race at the Dubai Autodrome.

Matteo Bobbi (Italy) and Gabriele Gardel (Switzerland) powered the BMS Scuderia Italia machine to the front of the grid in the late afternoon session.

They posted a time of 1minute 56.182 seconds which was enough to displace the provisional pole sitter, the Maserati of Mika Salo (Finland) and Andrea Bertolini (Italy) who were quickest in the morning session.

With times dropping rapidly in the final session the Maserati team took to the track late into the session but could not find the pace to claim pole from Ferrari. Johnny Herbert (England) and Fabrizio de Simone (Italy) claimed second spot on the grid getting the better of the Salo/Bertolini pairing who will head up the second row in third.

"The track is really nice. They have done a wonderful job with it. It's slow and fast and tricky I love it," said Gardel. "I am very happy with our car as well, it's very fast and we have improved continuously. I think we can do a good job."

They will need to keep up the good work to fend of what is likely to be a determined onslaught from the AF Corse Maserati team who will be out for revenge in the 500-km event which starts today at 3.30pm.

Shaikh Maktoum Hasher Maktoum Al Maktoum will fly the flag for the UAE when he takes to the track teamed up with India's star Narain Karthikeyan and Frenchman Anthony Beltoise in the Scuderia Veregra Chrysler Viper.

Shaikh Maktoum said: "I am really enjoying the atmosphere of the FIA GT Championship. I have driven the Viper before in testing at Paul Ricard and Jerez and find it a challenging car to drive.

"The important thing for me is to carry my country's flag and to participate in the first major event at the Dubai Autodrome. I have A1 on the car so that people can see that the CEO and founder of the A1 Grand Prix series is actually taking part."

In the N-GT class Ferrari was also the quickest with the GPC Giesse team car of Pescatori/Melo snatching the fastest qualifying time from the Freisinger Porsches setting the stage for a battle royal between the two marques in the lower category.

The fight for the FIA European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) title is getting hotter - Andy Priaulx (Great Britain) hit the mark in today's qualifying session, claiming his first pole position of the season.

The result may have a great influence on today's two races and also on the whole championship, considering that his rivals and BMW German drivers Dirk and Jörg Müller will be starting from the fifth row of the grid with a bunch of Alfa Romeo and SEAT cars between them and championship fellow contender Priaulx.

During a scorching afternoon under a fierce desert sun, 22 drivers took part in the last qualifying session of the season.

James Thompson (Great Britain) set the early pace in the Alfa Romeo but this did not last for long, as Priaulx timed an amazing 2:11.688, claiming the pole position for good. For the rest of the session no one else was able to break the 1:12 barrier.

With eight minutes to go Rickard Rydell (Sweden) improved to 2:12.584, for a provisional second position on the grid. But a few minutes later he was demoted to sixth when all the four Alfa Romeo men managed to improve - Tarquini (2nd), Thompson (3rd), Farfus (4th) and Giovanardi (5th).

The positions seemed frozen when Luca Rangoni (Italy) created a big surprise just under the chequered flag.

The Oregon Team's man completed a perfect lap in 2:12.194, claiming the second position on the starting grid - the best result for an Independent driver in the current season.

Priaulx said: "Anything can happen. You've got a new circuit, a very long lap and difficult conditions. There will be lots of opportunities for overtaking.

"The circuit is wide enough to guarantee many changes in positions. With the sand drivers can make mistakes during the races and is going to turn things around as well."

The first 10 lap heat of the ETCC will take place at 12.30pm and the second is scheduled for 2pm.