Oschersleben

Qualifying 1. He’s been setting the lap times alight all season, and was recently crowned 2004 Eurocup champion. But it’s clear that Scott Speed (Motopark Oschersleben) intends to end his amazing year in fine style. In Friday’s qualifying for race 1, the young American once more put paid to the competition, taking his eighth pole position. Joining him on the front row will be his countryman Fleming (Jenzer Motorsport), who still has his sights firmly set on a championship podium finish. The Netherlands’ Meijer (AR-Motorsport) starts in third, continuing his superb end to the season. Another fine result for him on a track where he claimed a race victory last year in the FR 2000 Masters. In fourth is Kochem (Jenzer Motorsport), ahead of the French trio Pilet (Graff Racing), Clairay (SG Formula) and Pagenaud (Graff Racing). An impressive line-up for what is sure to be an amazing race 1. Speed all the way! Qualifying 2 Double pole for Scott Speed (Motopark Oschersleben), in a fine performance on his team’s home turf. Great news for the local crowd, especially as next to him in race 2 will be Meijer (AR-Motorsport), on top form this weekend. Right behind them is Simon Pagenaud, taking third on the grid in the dying seconds of the session and keeping his chances of remaining second overall very much alive. But it’s going to be a hard fight all the way, with Fleming (5th) and Kochem (7th) also vying for a place on the final podium, while their other rival Kofler starts further back in 13th. This one’s going all the way.

Another perfect race from 2004 champion Scott Speed, the American once more giving us a lights-to-flag demonstration of how it's done. Joining him on the race podium came Meijer and Saarinen, with the all-important championship podium finally going to Pagenaud in second and Fleming in third. ''The car was perfect and I had no pressure on me,'' Speed told us later, ''Which meant I could take it easy and control the race, keeping an eye on my mirrors. I'm really happy to have taken the title, and I'd like to thank my team who have done a fantastic job all season, and my sponsors who have given me great support.'' Out on the track Speed took care of the rest, taking his eighth race win of the season from his ninth pole position. One of the most memorable moments of this last race of the year was the smiles from Fleming and Pagenaud as they confirmed their overall podium finishes. ''No one really made a move in the race,'' explained Pagenaud, who spent the whole time with Fleming in his mirrors, ''Given the positions there was no point taking any risks.'' Fleming himself showed us his ability to control his racing, ''Obviously I'm overjoyed to be third. I've been finishing consistently at the end of the season, and I was fifth overall coming here this weekend, so I knew there wouldn't be much in it. But I'm really happy. We've got two Americans on the podium, which is great.'' An incredible end to the 2004 Eurocup season for Speed, who already has his sights set on his future. ''I don't know exactly where I'll be racing yet, but my sponsors and I are looking at either GP2 or the World Series by Renault. It depends on how developed the cars are, but right now I want to enjoy the moment and celebrate winning this title. I'm aiming high for the future, so I want to carry on working hard. But after this evening, though... we've got some celebrating to do!''

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Check the dates of all the races in the 2004 season here