Picking up where he left off in collective testing, Josh Files surged to the top of the timesheets as the session got underway. After a short caution period triggered by an off-the-track excursion for Manuel Leon (SMC Junior Motorsport), Eric Tremoulet then outpaced the defending champion to take charge.

With six minutes remaining, however, points leader Oscar Nogues outdid everyone with a time of 2:17.603 to land his maiden pole of the season. The Spaniard’s new team-mate Alex Morgan was more than eight tenths behind him in second, while Mikel Azcona, Eric Tremoulet and Josh Files were all over a second adrift. After suffering a puncture, Massimiliano Pedala (Composit Motorsport) had to settle for 16th place on the grid.

The first Eurocup Clio race of the Nürburgring weekend starts at 15.40.

Oscar Nogues: “The information we picked up in yesterday’s testing gave us the chance to work on the set-up last night. While we’ve always had a good race set-up, we’ve been lacking something in qualifying. It looks now, though, as if we’ve found it. I set a very fast time but I was helped by my team-mate, who finished second. I’m delighted. Let’s see what the race holds in store for us.”