Nicolas Baert says he ‘cannot ask for more’ after claiming a maiden TCR Europe pole position on home soil at Zolder, with the Belgian pleased to pay back his team at their home race.
Baert, 19, was dominant throughout qualifying, topping both Q1 and Q2 and ending up more than three tenths of a second clear of Mat’o Homola.
The former Spanish Formula 4 racer had also been dominant in the second free practice session on Friday, when he was more than half a second clear of the field, using his local knowledge of the circuit to good effect.
“This is exactly what we wanted after yesterday,” said Baert. “I cannot ask for more. Pole here, at mine and the team’s home racetrack, with the Audi – I’m really happy with the job we did.
“For Audi, it was a really good qualifying, with all three cars in the top four.”
Baert is expecting a strong race for Comtoyou Racing, as his team-mates Mehdi Bennani and Sami Taoufik also qualified in third and fourth place respectively.
“I think it will be really good for us in the races; this result confirms the work we have done in the preparation for this weekend and so I’m very happy for me and for the team.”
Race one gets underway at 15:30 CEST (14:30 BST).