MW Arden racer Daniil Kvyat took a masterful pole position at Monza this morning – half-a-second clear of his nearest rival, Robert Visoiu.
The Russian Red Bull youngster powered his way to the top of the order four minutes from time with a staggering lap of 1:36.933.
Kvyat’s pole position earns the Russian an extra four points, bringing him to within 23 points of series leader, Facu Regalia.
Meanwhile Visoiu – sitting on Kvyat’s rear wing at the crucial moment – crossed the line some 0.511s down on his MW Arden stablemate to assume the second front row spot.
The final moments of the session were rendered mute by several yellow flags due to spins by Carlin duo Alexander Sims and Nick Yelloly. David Fumanelli’s broken Trident machine ground to a halt on the exit of the Rettifilo chicane, neutralizing any fast runs through there.
As such, Tio Ellinas took 3rd place with what would turn out to be one of the final improvements of the session. The Cypriot displaced Sims and Yelloly in the order to 4th and 5th respectively, with Carlos Sainz Jr rounding out the top six in the third MW Arden machine.
Championship contenders Conor Daly and Regalia registered 7th and 8th positions, heading Kevin Korjus by mere thousandths come the chequered flag. Lewis Williamson closed out the top ten for Bamboo Engineering.
Two penalties have been applied for today’s opening race. Aaro Vainio has a five-place grid penalty left over from the round at Spa-Francorchamps, while Carmen Jorda takes a – somewhat irrelevant – ten-place grid penalty, as she had qualified last regardless.
2013 GP3 Series (Rd 7, Qualifying) Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Daniil Kvyat MW Arden 1m36.933s 2. Robert Visoiu MW Arden 1m37.444s +0.511s 3. Tio Ellinas Manor 1m37.526s +0.593s 4. Alexander Sims Carlin 1m37.580s +0.647s 5. Nick Yelloly Carlin 1m37.602s +0.669s 6. Carlos Sainz MW Arden 1m37.619s +0.686s 7. Conor Daly ART 1m37.708s +0.775s 8. Facu Regalia ART 1m37.715s +0.782s 9. Kevin Korjus Koiranen 1m37.723s +0.790s 10. Lewis Williamson Bamboo 1m37.942s +1.009s 11. Dino Zamparelli Mano 1m37.991s +1.058s 12. Jack Harvey ART 1m38.111s +1.178s 13. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer 1m38.113s +1.180s 14. Adderly Fong Status 1m38.141s +1.208s 15. Patrick Kujala Koiranen 1m38.388s +1.455s 16. Giovanni Venturini Trident 1m38.419s +1.486s 17. Melville McKee Bamboo 1m38.450s +1.517s 18. Luis Sa Silva Carlin 1m38.495s +1.562s 19. Alex Fontana Jenzer 1m38.522s +1.589s 20. David Fumanelli Trident 1m38.566s +1.633s 21. Jimmy Eriksson Status 1m38.615s +1.682s 22. Josh Webster Status 1m38.660s +1.727s 23. Emanuele Zonzini Trident 1m38.934s +2.001s 24. Ryan Cullen Manor 1m39.312s +2.379s 25. Samin Gomez Jenzer 1m39.474s +2.541s 26. Aaro Vainio Koiranen 1m38.606s +1.673s* 27. Carmen Jorda Bamboo 1m40.218s +3.285s**
Notes:
Penalties
Aaro Vainio takes grid penalty from Spa-Francorchamps round.
Carmen Jorda received grid penalty following Free Practice.
