Timo Scheider elated with qualifying comeback

Timo Scheider recovered from a hugely disappointing opening qualifying session to set the fastest time in Q2 of World Rallycross of Great Britain.

The double DTM champion battled engine issues in Q1, leaving him 16th in the standings with only the non-starting Herve Knapick below him. In Q2 however, he split the Hansen brothers to finish second, setting the fastest lap of the day in the process.

“We were struggling big-time in Q1, we had a bad draw starting first because track is improving quite a lot here,” he said. “Then I had a bit of a fight into turns one, two and three, lost a lot of time there, and had a small engine issue

“We stuck our heads together and made a strategy for Q2 and luckily the lottery made us start last which played in our favour and then we had a pretty clean run, set the fastest time overall and second overall in the rankings, that was a big surprise for all of us but we’ll take it and we are quite happy about it for sure,” he added.

Track development has played a key part in World RX’s visit to Silverstone this year, with the clear weather conditions meaning that as more races are run, the loose section cleans up and gets faster. It’s a stark contrast to last year when Scheider ran in the Americas Rallycross race at Silverstone in ever-changing conditions.

“The development of the track is massive in dry conditions,” he said. “If the dirt is too loose, we still struggle – we saw that in Spa so I’m really optimistic when there’s some grip building up. ”

“Even when there is some loose, you pick up some rubber which is nice,” Scheider added. “I hope it stays like this, the weather should be okay as well so I’m going to bed with a smile on my face for sure.”

Despite that smile, Scheider isn’t getting carried away, even if his current seventh place standing would see him comfortably advance to the semi-finals.

“In rallycross it can be so quick from one side to the other and it’s dangerous to feel comfortable or safe in any way,” Scheider said. “Right now, I’ve seen the lottery again for tomorrow and the quickest are starting first so we have the bad conditions on track again but how big will the difference be? We’ll see, but you have the fast guys around – that’s positive.”