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Spa FR3.5: Matthieu Vaxiviere takes pole ahead of Beitske Visser

Lotus F1 junior racer Matthieu Vaxiviere claimed his second Formula Renault 3.5 pole position of the season at Spa-Francorchamps

The Frenchman produced his fastest lap of 1m58.768s just 15 seconds before the chequered flag.

Rivals were denied a final opportunity of challenging Vaxiviere when Carlin driver Sean Gelael found the gravel bed at the Pif Paf, prompting the appearance of yellow flags.

Breaking this season's status quo, AVF's Beitske Visser produced her best FR3.5 qualifying effort to earn a place on the front row of Saturday afternoon's low-downforce race.

NEWS UPDATE: Visser loses front row grid spot

Canadian Nicholas Latifi showed that his impressive performance in Friday's second practice session was no aberration by taking third for Arden, ahead of Monaco winner and championship leader Jazeman Jaafar.

After a stellar drive through the field in Monaco last weekend, Oliver Rowland's Spa qualifying run in the second Fortec entry did not go to plan.

The Briton had a jack bracket from another team wedged in his car and also had his final attempt disrupted by yellow flags, leaving him fifth.

Crash prompts vote on Formula Renault 3.5 race format

Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup champion Nyck de Vries edged out Friday morning pacesetter Tio Ellinas by 0.013s to grab sixth spot.

Vaxiviere's Lotus team-mate Meindert van Buuren qualified 10th, but has a 10-place grid penalty to apply for his involvement in a collision with Bruno Bonifacio in Monaco.

The session was interrupted by two red flag incidents. The first occurred with just under nine minutes left on the clocks, when Arden's Egor Orudzhev crashed at Les Combes.

After cutting the corner, the Russian had slowed to rejoin the circuit only to catch an awkward bounce over the sleeping policeman-style kerbs. Robbed of any steering when the front of the Arden car hopped into the air, Orudzhev was sent into a head-on impact with the barriers at relatively low speed.

The session had resumed for barely a minute when GP2 refugee Tom Dillmann's Carlin car parked with a damaged front wing, instigating another stoppage.

Both Dillmann, who had been seventh at the time of his misfortune, and Orudzhev had their best laps deleted for causing a red flag.

QUALIFYING TIMES:

Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1 Matthieu Vaxiviere Lotus 1m58.768s -
2 Beitske Visser AVF 1m58.893s 0.125s
3 Nicholas Latifi Arden Motorsport 1m58.987s 0.219s
4 Jazeman Jaafar Fortec Motorsports 1m59.001s 0.233s
5 Oliver Rowland Fortec Motorsports 1m59.111s 0.343s
6 Nyck de Vries DAMS 1m59.312s 0.544s
7 Tio Ellinas Strakka Racing 1m59.325s 0.557s
8 Dean Stoneman DAMS 1m59.481s 0.713s
9 Roberto Merhi Pons Racing 1m59.560s 0.792s
10 Meindert van Buuren Lotus 1m59.632s 0.864s
11 Gustav Malja Strakka Racing 1m59.648s 0.880s
12 Aurelien Panis Tech 1 Racing 1m59.690s 0.922s
13 Pietro Fantin International Draco Racing 1m59.960s 1.192s
14 Alfonso Celis AVF 2m00.000s 1.232s
15 Bruno Bonifacio International Draco Racing 2m00.330s 1.562s
16 Tom Dillmann Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 2m00.368s 1.600s
17 Egor Orudzhev Arden Motorsport 2m00.558s 1.790s
18 Philo Paz Armand Pons Racing 2m00.662s 1.894s
19 Sean Gelael Jagonya Ayam with Carlin 2m01.010s 2.242s
20 Roy Nissany Tech 1 Racing 2m01.558s 2.790s


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