Ghiotto reigns supreme in Spa qualifying

That’s how to make a first impression! Debutant Luca Ghiotto from Trident impressed the field in a wet session to claim a maiden pole position in his first race weekend by three tenths of a second. Carlin’s Emil Bernstorff will join the Italian on the front row, with Koiranen GP’s Jimmy Eriksson in third.

Rain had fallen overnight and again prior to the thirty minute qualifying session. The 26 drivers fed onto the Spa-Francorchamps circuit on wet Pirelli tyres for Round 6 of the 2014 GP3 Series. Carmen Jorda was an early victim to the conditions; the Spaniard ran wide at Turn 14 and was beached in the gravel, a premature end to her session.

Series leader Alex Lynn headed the timesheet early on lapping in the 2m23’s before Eriksson improved on the Carlin driver’s time to snatch P1. ART Grand Prix’s Marvin Kirchhöfer and Dino Zamparelli were third and fourth. At the midway point, Eriksson held a 0.463s margin over Lynn as the sun decided to make an appearance.
After twenty minutes, the drivers returned to the pitlane, ready for new rubber. Zamparelli gambled with slick tyres which didn’t pay off but the track became alive when Ghiotto began to light the timing screen and produced the best lap of the session with a 2:22.251. Despite the sunshine, there was no drying line appearing, with drivers struggling to make a big impact on their laptimes.
Bernstorff moved into second, whilst Lynn was on his best lap on his final attempt but was slightly hindered by traffic and remained in P5. At the chequered flag, it was jubilation for Trident, their first pole in the category. The top ten will line-up as Ghiotto, Bernstorff, Eriksson, Richie Stanaway, Lynn, Patrick Kujala, Kirchhöfer, Patric Niederhauser, Mathéo Tuscher and Zamparelli.
Race 1 takes place later today at 16:20 local time as the quest for supremacy continues.
Qualifying – Spa-Francorchamps
Driver
Team
Laptime
Laps
1.
Luca Ghiotto
Trident
2:22.251
11
2.
Emil Bernstorff
Carlin
2:22.584
10
3.
Jimmy Eriksson
Koiranen GP
2:22.678
9
4.
Richie Stanaway
Status Grand Prix
2:22.862
11
5.
Alex Lynn
Carlin
2:23.081
11
6.
Patrick Kujala
Marussia Manor Racing
2:23.303
11
7.
Marvin Kirchhöfer
ART Grand Prix
2:23.413
9
8.
Patric Niederhauser
Arden International
2:23.438
10
9.
Mathéo Tuscher
Jenzer Motorsport
2:23.481
11
10.
Dino Zamparelli
ART Grand Prix
2:23.565
11
11.
Dean Stoneman
Marussia Manor Racing
2:23.586
11
12.
Jann Mardenborough
Arden International
2:23.794
11
13.
Nick Yelloly
Status Grand Prix
2:23.920
11
14.
Robert Visoiu
Arden International
2:23.996
10
15.
Kevin Ceccon
Jenzer Motorsport
2:24.057
12
16.
Alex Fontana
ART Grand Prix
2:24.248
9
17.
Sebastian Balthasar
Hilmer Motorsport
2:24.464
12
18.
Santiago Urrutia
Koiranen GP
2:24.687
11
19
Nelson Mason
Hilmer Motorsport
2:24.846
12
20.
Luis Sa Silva
Carlin
2:24.862
10
21.
Pal Varhaug
Jenzer Motorsport
2:25.301
11
22.
Alfonso Celis. Jr
Status Grand Prix
2:25.553
11
23.
Riccardo Agostini
Hilmer Motorsport
2:25.965
11
24.
John Bryant-Meisner
Trident
2:25.969
12
25.
Ryan Cullen
Marussia Manor Racing
2:26.537
11
26
Carmen Jorda
Koiranen GP
0