Barcelona GP3: Tio Ellinas inherits pole from penalised Kevin Korjus

The fastest man overall, Kevin Korjus, entered the session with a 10-place grid penalty after transgressing in free practice on Friday.

Koiranen racer Korjus topped the session with a lap of 1m34.193s, just 0.040 seconds quicker than Ellinas.

The new-generation cars now feature a far more powerful 3.4-litre AER V6 engine, producing 400bhp, and Korjus's time was 4.305s faster than the qualifying record at Barcelona set by Mitch Evans in 2011.

AUTOSPORT's 2013 GP3 grid guide

Free practice pacesetter Patric Niederhauser of Jenzer Motorsport will start alongside Ellinas on the front row after he set the third quickest time right at the end of the session, pipping two other penalised drivers - Alex Fontana and Carlos Sainz Jr.

That means sixth-fastest qualifier Conor Daly will start third for ART, despite his last flying lap being negatively influenced by Arden's Daniil Kvyat. The Red Bull protege duly received a three-place penalty.

Nick Yelloly will start fifth, ahead of Aaro Vainio and Facu Regalia. The latter's ART team-mate Jack Harvey, who suffered a big spin at Turn 9 mid-way through the session, qualified 11th but will start 12th behind pacesetter Korjus (pictured).

Other incidents included Ryan Cullen spinning his Marussia-run car at Turn 12, beaching himself on the inside kerb and causing a lengthy yellow flag near the end of the session.

Melville McKee also spun at Turn 9, but stayed out of the gravel.

Pos  Driver               Team      Time       Gap
 1.  Kevin Korjus         Koiranen  1m34.193s
 2.  Tio Ellinas          Manor     1m34.233s  + 0.040s
 3.  Patric Niederhauser  Jenzer    1m34.444s  + 0.251s
 4.  Alex Fontana         Jenzer    1m34.581s  + 0.388s
 5.  Carlos Sainz Jr      MW Arden  1m34.635s  + 0.442s
 6.  Conor Daly           ART       1m34.810s  + 0.617s
 7.  Daniil Kvyat         MW Arden  1m34.989s  + 0.796s*
 8.  Nick Yelloly         Carlin    1m35.111s  + 0.918s
 9.  Aaro Vainio          Koiranen  1m35.183s  + 0.990s
10.  Facu Regalia         ART       1m35.206s  + 1.013s
11.  Jack Harvey          ART       1m35.250s  + 1.057s
12.  Dino Zamparelli      Manor     1m35.334s  + 1.141s
13.  David Fumanelli      Trident   1m35.376s  + 1.183s
14.  Robert Visoiu        MW Arden  1m35.408s  + 1.215s
15.  Jimmy Eriksson       Status    1m35.458s  + 1.265s
16.  Giovanni Venturini   Trident   1m35.533s  + 1.340s
17.  Lewis Williamson     Bamboo    1m35.725s  + 1.532s
18.  Eric Lichtenstein    Carlin    1m35.884s  + 1.691s
19.  Patrick Kujala       Koiranen  1m36.031s  + 1.838s
20.  Adderly Fong         Status    1m36.131s  + 1.938s
21.  Luis Sa Silva        Carlin    1m36.271s  + 2.078s
22.  Melville McKee       Bamboo    1m36.464s  + 2.271s
23.  Emanuele Zonzini     Trident   1m36.489s  + 2.296s
24.  Samin Gomez          Jenzer    1m36.543s  + 2.350s
25.  Ryan Cullen          Manor     1m37.004s  + 2.811s
26.  Josh Webster         Status    1m37.030s  + 2.837s
27.  Carmen Jorda         Bamboo    1m38.574s  + 4.381s

Drivers in italics will get 10-place penalties
* Three-place grid penalty