Although three of his best laps were stymied by the problems of others, Augusto Farfus will still start from a strong third position for the first round of the World Touring Car Championship season at Curitiba.
Competing on home soil, Farfus had hoped to impress his home fans by starting the season in the best way possible, but was forced to settle for third when circumstances out of his control ruined his laps.
Firstly, the red flag brought on by Alain Menu's crash hurt him, before team-mate Jorg Muller's spin in front of him in the dying minutes compounded his woe. Sergio Hernandez also did his utmost to disrupt proceedings when he spun in the latter stages.
Nonetheless, Farfus best lap was still enough for a spot on the second row of the grid, the Brazilian emerging as the best of the BMWs on a day when the 320si seemed to struggle against the SEATs over a single lap.
“Qualifying was a bit strange with the red flag in the middle of the session that disturbed everybody. I was on my fast lap so I had to abort and on following attempt I Jörg spun in front of me so it wasn't a perfect situation, but to be third on the grid is good.
Farfus is feeling confident for the race though, admitting he always expected to be fighting back against the Spanish marque after qualifying.
“We know that we will be quite strong in the race. We expected SEAT to be ahead in qualifying, so let's see for the race and try to fight for the podium.”
![Augusto Farfus - BMW Team Germany BMW 320si [pic credit: FIA WTCC]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/411951.jpg)
