Rio Haryanto secured his first GP2 pole position at Spa-Francorchamps this evening.
The Carlin racer headed Lotus’ James Calado as the clock ran down during a very wet session at the famed Belgian circuit.
Coming in with a best of 2:17.535, Haryanto proved to be one-tenth of-a-second too quick for the impressive Englishman. It was an impressive tour from the Indonesian, who has struggled for consistency at times this season – in this instance, Haryanto was inch perfect.
Beyond Calado was Lotus teammate Esteban Gutierrez who was a further tenth behind the flying Haryanto.
While the poleman gained a nice bundle of bonus points and two spots in the standings (Haryanto now claims 13th), the starting grid gives the Lotus pairing ample opportunity to build their battle for 3rd place overall – a battle Gutierrez currently leads.
iSport duo Marcus Ericsson and Jolyon Palmer were next up, with the Swede edging Palmer to the second row by three-tenths. Championship challenger Davide Valsecchi rounded out the top six, some thirteen places ahead of his chief rival Luiz Razia…
There was a surprise when Sergio Canamasas grabbed 7th for Venezuela GP Lazarus who lurched onto the fourth row thanks to a late effort. Canamasas heads Fabio Leimer (Racing Engineering), Felipe Nasr (DAMS) and Giedo van der Garde (Caterham).
As noted, it was a poor session for series leader Razia. The Brazilian starts rom 19th place tomorrow and it will take a stellar drive from the pit of his boots to lift a result from that.
2012 GP2 Round of Spa-Francorchamps (Rd 10, Qualifying) Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Rio Haryanto Carlin 2m17.535s 2. James Calado Lotus 2m17.643s + 0.108s 3. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus 2m17.736s + 0.201s 4. Marcus Ericsson iSport 2m18.058s + 0.523s 5. Jolyon Palmer iSport 2m18.368s + 0.833s 6. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 2m18.397s + 0.862s 7. Sergio Canamasas Lazarus 2m18.582s + 1.047s 8. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 2m18.603s + 1.068s 9. Felipe Nasr DAMS 2m18.801s + 1.266s 10. Giedo van der Garde Caterham 2m18.930s + 1.395s 11. Stefano Coletti Coloni 2m19.328s + 1.793s 12. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 2m19.721s + 2.186s 13. Max Chilton Carlin 2m19.803s + 2.268s 14. Fabio Onidi Coloni 2m20.100s + 2.565s 15. Josef Kral Addax 2m20.224s + 2.689s 16. Victor Guerin Ocean 2m20.289s + 2.754s 17. Julian Leal Trident 2m20.455s + 2.920s 18. Ricardo Teixeira Rapax 2m20.484s + 2.949s 19. Luiz Razia Arden 2m20.712s + 3.177s 20. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham 2m20.752s + 3.217s 21. Nigel Melker Ocean 2m20.888s + 3.353s 22. Daniel de Jong Rapax 2m20.921s + 3.386s 23. Stephane Richelmi Trident 2m21.070s + 3.535s 24. Simon Trummer Arden 2m21.790s + 4.255s 25. Johnny Cecotto Addax 2m21.942s + 4.407s 26. Rene Binder Lazarus 2m22.795s + 5.260s
