World championship contender Kimi Rï¿½ikkï¿½nen (Team McLaren Mercedes) will start tomorrowï¿½s German Grand Prix from pole position. The Finnï¿½s 1m 14.320s lap put him 0.439s clear of Jenson Button (Bï¿½Aï¿½R -Honda/Michelin) and maintained Michelinï¿½s 100 per cent pole position record for the season.

Points leader Fernando Alonso (Renault/Michelin) spearheaded the remaining Michelin runners. The Spaniard will line up third, ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault, fourth), Mark Webber (BMW WilliamsF1 Team, sixth), Nick Heidfeld (BMW WilliamsF1 Team, seventh), Takuma Sato (Bï¿½Aï¿½R -Honda, eighth), Jarno Trulli (Toyota, ninth), Christian Klien (Red Bull Racing, 10th), David Coulthard (Red Bull Racing, 11th), Ralf Schumacher (Toyota, 12th), Felipe Massa (Sauber-Petronas, 13th) and Jacques Villeneuve (Sauber-Petronas, 14th).

Rï¿½ikkï¿½nenï¿½s team-mate Juan Pablo Montoya vied for pole until he spun off at the final corner, an incident that condemns the Colombian to the back row of the grid.

Michelinï¿½s day :
Pierre Dupasquier, Michelin motorsport director ï¿½We are set for another very interesting raceï¿½ and several Michelin teams are clearly in a very good position. The pace of the McLarens and Renaults is self-evident, Jenson Buttonï¿½s Bï¿½Aï¿½R - Honda is well placed and I wouldnï¿½t rule out Juan Pablo Montoyaï¿½s chances of challenging for a podium position from the back of the grid. Our tyres performed well in yesterdayï¿½s cooler conditions and were very strong again today, when temperatures were more like those we are used to at Hockenheim. The forecast might still be uncertain for tomorrow, but the competitiveness of our tyres is very obvious.ï¿½

Nick Shorrock, director of Michelin F1 activities ï¿½Our partners have opted for tyre solutions that will combine strong overall performance with excellent durability. These choices were relatively easy to make for the teams. There are some significant tyre loads here ï¿½ particularly through the long, fast, left-hand sweep that leads to the first hairpin ï¿½ but we have had no wear-rate issues at all. The warmer temperatures today were more suitable for our chosen compoundï¿½s natural operating windows and I am very confident about our prospects for the race.ï¿½

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Formula One, Team McLaren Mercedes ï¿½That was a terrific lap by Kimi. Our cars have clearly been very strong all weekend and the whole team is very happy with the way the tyres are performing. The Michelin tyres are very good over one lap in qualifying and Iï¿½m confident they will be strong throughout the race. We are in great shape.ï¿½

2005 German Grand Prix - Main Page

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