Franco Girolami beat TCR Europe title rival Aurélien Comte to pole position for the opening TCR Europe race at Brno in the Czech Republic, over four tenths clear of his fellow CUPRA racer.
Although Monlau Motorsport’s Girolami had earlier been the quickest of the TCR Europe field in Q1, with the second best time, it was actually TCR Eastern Europe’s Mat’o Homola who stole the fastest time in Q1, with a lap of 2 minutes 12.938 seconds.
However, when it mattered most in Q2, Girolami and Comte continued their tight title battle, with Argentine Girolami claiming pole with a time of 2:12.504 and with it an additional ten points, moving him three points clear of Comte in the overall championship battle.
MA:GP’s Viktor Andersson put his Lynk & Co in third, although the Swede was almost eight tenths of a second off the leading duo.
Homola was the leading Hyundai and Eastern European driver in fourth, ahead of Aditis Racing’s Martin Kadlečík in his Audi in fifth.
Adam Kout was sixth in the second of the Janík Motorsport-run Hyundais in the Eastern European field, beating the ALM Motorsport Honda of Ignacio Montenegro, who was seventh.
The second SP Compétition CUPRA of Giovanni Scamardi was eighth, ahead of the wildcard Audi of 2022 TCR Eastern Europe champion Bartosz Groszek in ninth.
ALM’s Levente Losonczy completed the top ten, giving the young Hungarian pole position for Sunday’s reverse grid race, with Grsozek starting alongside him.
Mertel Motorsport’s Davit Kajaia and GOAT Racing’s Felipe Fernández Gil missed the reverse grid, leaving the Honda drivers to start from 11th and 12th respectively for both races.
Viktor Davidovski was the only TCR Europe regular not to get into Q2, the Macedonian racer down in 14th in his CUPRA, behind the Mertel Motorsport Honda of René Kircher in 13th.
Race one is scheduled to get underway at 14:15 CEST on Saturday (13:15 BST) and will be streamed live on the TCR Eastern Europe YouTube channel.
Q2 results
| POS | NO | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 72 |  |
Franco GIROLAMI | Monlau Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 2 | 2:12.504 | – |
| 2 | 7 |  |
Aurélien COMTE | SP Compétition | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 3 | 2:12.937 | 0.433 |
| 3 | 10 |  |
Viktor ANDERSSON | MA:GP | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 2 | 2:13.297 | 0.793 |
| 4 | 70 |  |
Mat’o HOMOLA | Hyundai / Janík Motorsport | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 2 | 2:13.392 | 0.888 |
| 5 | 301 |  |
Martin KADLEČÍK | Aditis Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 2 | 2:13.453 | 0.949 |
| 6 | 68 | |
Adam KOUT | Hyundai / Janík Motorsport | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 3 | 2:13.518 | 1.014 |
| 7 | 23 | |
Ignacio MONTENEGRO | ALM Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 2 | 2:13.563 | 1.059 |
| 8 | 34 |  |
Giovanni SCAMARDI | SP Compétition | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 3 | 2:13.648 | 1.144 |
| 9 | 97 |  |
Bartosz GROSZEK | Aditis Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 2 | 2:13.661 | 1.157 |
| 10 | 64 |  |
Levente LOSONCZY | ALM Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 2 | 2:13.823 | 1.319 |
| 11 | 9 |  |
Davit KAJAIA | Mertel Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK7 TCR | 2 | 2:13.841 | 1.337 |
| 12 | 19 |  |
Felipe FERNÁNDEZ Gil | GOAT Racing | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 3 | 2:15.013 | 2.509 |
Q1 results
| POS | NO | NAT | DRIVER | ENTRANT | CAR | LAPS | TIME | GAP |
| 1 | 70 | |
Mat’o HOMOLA | Hyundai / Janík Motorsport | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 4 | 2:12.938 | – |
| 2 | 72 | |
Franco GIROLAMI | Monlau Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 7 | 2:12.975 | 0.037 |
| 3 | 97 | |
Bartosz GROSZEK | Aditis Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 3 | 2:13.095 | 0.157 |
| 4 | 301 | |
Martin KADLEČÍK | Aditis Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 4 | 2:13.142 | 0.204 |
| 5 | 23 | |
Ignacio MONTENEGRO | ALM Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 6 | 2:13.195 | 0.257 |
| 6 | 68 | |
Adam KOUT | Hyundai / Janík Motorsport | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 5 | 2:13.206 | 0.268 |
| 7 | 34 | |
Giovanni SCAMARDI | SP Compétition | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 4 | 2:13.225 | 0.287 |
| 8 | 10 | |
Viktor ANDERSSON | MA:GP | Lynk & Co 03 TCR | 6 | 2:13.233 | 0.295 |
| 9 | 7 | |
Aurélien COMTE | SP Compétition | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 3 | 2:13.309 | 0.371 |
| 10 | 19 | |
Felipe FERNÁNDEZ Gil | GOAT Racing | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 7 | 2:13.316 | 0.378 |
| 11 | 64 | |
Levente LOSONCZY | ALM Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 6 | 2:13.397 | 0.459 |
| 12 | 9 | |
Davit KAJAIA | Mertel Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK7 TCR | 6 | 2:13.632 | 0.694 |
| 13 | 8 |  |
René KIRCHER | Mertel Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK7 TCR | 7 | 2:13.814 | 0.876 |
| 14 | 110 |  |
Viktor DAVIDOVSKI | Monlau Motorsport | CUPRA Leon VZ TCR | 7 | 2:13.980 | 1.042 |
| 15 | 3 |  |
Giacomo GHERMANDI | MM Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FL5 TCR | 6 | 2:14.204 | 1.266 |
| 16 | 11 | |
Jiří ZBOŽÍNEK | Hyundai / Janík Motorsport | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 7 | 2:14.306 | 1.368 |
| 17 | 74 |  |
Žarko KNEGO | Auto Klub Dubrovnik | Hyundai Elantra N TCR | 7 | 2:14.329 | 1.391 |
| 18 | 121 |  |
Ivars VALLERS | LV Racing | Audi RS3 LMS TCR II | 7 | 2:14.567 | 1.629 |
| 19 | 14 | |
Petr ČÍŽEK | Expres Auto Racing | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 6 | 2:14.729 | 1.791 |
| 20 | 48 |  |
Fraňo DUBRETA | Auto Klub Dubrovnik | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 7 | 2:16.014 | 3.076 |
| 21 | 20 |  |
Jorden DOLISCHKA | Mertel Motorsport | Honda Civic Type-R FK7 TCR | 8 | 2:16.128 | 3.190 |
| 22 | 82 | |
Vít SMEJKAL | Expres Auto Racing | CUPRA Leon Competición TCR | 7 | 2:16.814 | 3.876 |