French GP qualifying - BMW WilliamsF1 Team

French Grand Prix - QUALIFYING 30th June 2001

Weather:
Air temperature 30°C average. Track temperature 44°C average.

It was a strong performance by the BMW WilliamsF1 Team today. Ralf Schumacher 
took his first pole position in Magny Cours, giving himself a present for his 
26th birthday. This pole is the 16th for BMW and the first since its return 
to Formula 1. For  WilliamsF1 it is the team's 109th pole. Juan Pablo Montoya 
will start from sixth on the grid.

Ralf Schumacher 
Position: Pole
Chassis: FW23 05
Best Time: 1:12.989
"I am really happy about my first pole. It was very tight, in fact I didn't 
expect after this morning that we were able to beat them here, but it worked 
out - very tight but tough, it was enough. The team did a great job and I had 
a very good car. Unfortunately we are not given points for qualifying. I 
believe it will be a very close race tomorrow and hope for a better start 
than I had in the Nurburgring. I think we are well prepared for the race and 
have also made the right tyre choice."

Juan Pablo Montoya 
Position: 6th
Chassis: FW23 06
T-Car: FW23 02
Best Time: 1:13.625
"This was a pretty good qualifying and I am feeling quite confident for the 
race. The car is good, but unfortunately I was blocked on my last lap in the 
final sector by Jean Alesi."

Patrick Head (Technical Director, WilliamsF1)
"This is an excellent first pole for Ralf, the BMW WilliamsF1 Team and for 
Michelin since its return to the sport. It was certainly a very close one. 
Juan Pablo was badly held up on his last lap, but, like Ralf, he is happy 
with his car so we will just have to see what happens tomorrow."

Gerhard Berger (BMW Motorsport Director)
"It is refreshing to see three teams fighting for pole. It was the most 
interesting qualifying we have seen for quite a while and this close 
competition is very good for Formula One. Obviously we are very happy with 
the first pole for BMW in its new era in Formula One. It was a strong 
performance by Ralf, WilliamsF1 and Michelin. Juan Pablo drove well but 
unfortunately was held up on his last lap."

Current high-resolution photographs may be downloaded from the BMW Press Club 
at www.press.bmwgroup.com (registration at any time).

WilliamsF1
Ann Bradshaw
ann.bradshaw@williamsf1.com
Tel: +44 79 772 75 838

BMW
Guido Stalmann
Tel: +49(0) 170 5666 112
guido.stalmann@bmw.de

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945