Jean-Karl Vernay was pleased to qualify in fourth in qualifying for the FIA World Touring Car Cup at Estoril, admitting that it was ‘nearly impossible’ to beat the on-form Honda drivers.
The Münnich Motorsport Honda Civics dominated Saturday’s qualifying session, locking out the top four places in both Q1 and Q2.
Consequently Vernay, sixth in Q1 and fifth in Q2, emerged as the closest challenger to the Hondas and was the only Hyundai driver to make it through to Q3.
There, the Frenchman qualified in fourth, faster than the Honda of Attila Tassi but trailing the three leading Hondas, three tenths from pole position.
Points leader Vernay was pleased with his qualifying efforts, admitting that it was almost impossible to go faster than the Hondas around the Portuguese circuit.
“It was a good day – qualifying went well and we were strong from the beginning,” said Vernay. “I felt good since the first lap, and I was happy with the car.
“I’m feeling good with the car, and it was quite easy to make good lap times. I worked a little bit on the setup to make sure we could fight for the top five in qualifying and that’s what we did.
“Obviously the Hondas are quite fast, and it was nearly impossible to beat them today, but I think we can be proud for sure.
“I would have been happier if we could have been slightly better to secure a better position for race two but it is what it is, we can be happy about it and now focus on the races to take good points.”
Vernay will start from seventh on the reverse grid for race one, which is scheduled to get underway at 11:15 BST (12:15 CEST).