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BMW duo Augusto Farfus and Andy Priaulx set the pace in qualifying to claim front row spots for the first WTCC race in Brno, Czech Republic.

With a time of 2:09.590 Brazilian Farfus took his third pole position of the season. Alessandro Zanardi secured third place ahead of Chevrolet's Nicola Larini.

Rickard Rydell and Gabriele Tarquini were the only SEAT drivers to enter Q2 and they will line up fifth and sixth on the grid for Sunday's opening race.

QUALIFYING 1

It looked as though Jorg Mueller's opening gambit of 2:10.424 would prove to be the fastest time but on the final lap Priaulx beat it by a massive eight tenths of a second.

SEAT Sport also enjoyed a surge in the dying minutes to ensure their presence in the second qualifying session.

Gabriele Tarquini and Rickard Rydell made the top 10 for the Spanish marque but in doing so knocked out team-mate Tiago Monteiro.

Jordi Gene and Yvan Muller also narrowly missed the cut in 12th and 13th places.

Alain Menu and Nicola Larini progressed to Q2 for Chevrolet but despite putting in his best lap at the end, Robert Huff could only manage 14th. Felix Porteiro snuck into the top 10, being the only Independent driver to do so.

QUALIFYING 2

With the majority of the cars venturing onto the track late there was all to play for in the final moments of the session. With the exception of Mueller, all the drivers' best times came from their last lap.

Priaulx took provisional pole but Farfus bettered it by just four hundredths of a second.

Zanardi, who has a very strong record at the Brno track, was 0.272 shy of pole position.

Larini, Rydell and Tarquini ensured BMW did not dominate further than the top three. Mueller will line up seventh ahead of Alain Menu, Sergio Hernandez and Porteiro.

FIA WTCC Brno: The races LIVE at 11.45am on British Eurosport (Sky 410/Virgin Media 521) on Sunday; Also available on your PC via the Eurosport Player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe

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