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Bortolotti takes pole for F2 opener

Mirko Bortolotti will begin his Formula 2 comeback race from pole position after topping the opening qualifying session of the year at Silverstone

The Italian did not take to the track until a third of the 30-minute session had elapsed, but wasted little time in getting in among the frontrunners.

His initial gambit of 1m51.128s sent him to the top of the timesheets, but he eventually worked his way down to a 1m50.834s lap, becoming the first man to break the 1m51s barrier all weekend.

So confident was he of starting from the front, that Bortolotti did not bother taking part in the final five minutes of the session and instead stopped his car in parc ferme in front of the 'P1' sign - while there were still a number of quick cars on the circuit.

F2 debutant Miki Monras came closest to knocking Bortolotti off the top spot with a lap 0.108s slower than his rival in the final minute of the session.

Will Bratt and Alex Brundle filled the second row, the latter equaling the best grid spot of his F2 career. However, Brundle's attempt to wrest a front-row spot was spoiled by a big slide moment at Becketts late on. Mihai Marinescu and series returnee Tobias Hegewald completed the top six.

Ramon Pineiro qualified seventh, ahead of practice pacesetter Jack Clarke, while Johannes Theobald was a career-best ninth quickest ahead of Formula 3 convert Christopher Zanella.

Only one driver appeared to encounter a serious problem during the session; Natalia Kowalska pulling off the track at the entrance to Maggotts.

Pos  Driver                Time       Gap
 1.  Mirko Bortolotti      1m50.834s
 2.  Miki Monras           1m50.942s  + 0.108s
 3.  Will Bratt            1m50.967s  + 0.133s
 4.  Alex Brundle          1m51.015s  + 0.181s
 5.  Mihai Marinescu       1m51.217s  + 0.383s
 6.  Tobias Hegewald       1m51.272s  + 0.438s
 7.  Ramon Pineiro         1m51.316s  + 0.482s
 8.  Jack Clarke           1m51.758s  + 0.924s
 9.  Johannes Theobald     1m51.951s  + 1.117s
10.  Christopher Zanella   1m51.985s  + 1.151s
11.  Thiemo Storz          1m52.101s  + 1.267s
12.  Tom Gladdis           1m52.255s  + 1.421s
13.  Maxim Snegirev        1m52.319s  + 1.485s
14.  Benjamin Lariche      1m52.355s  + 1.521s
15.  Mikkel Mac            1m52.469s  + 1.635s
16.  Armaan Ebrahim        1m52.689s  + 1.855s
17.  Kelvin Snoeks         1m52.870s  + 2.036s
18.  James Cole            1m52.904s  + 2.070s
19.  Jose Luis Abadin      1m53.192s  + 2.358s
20.  Parthiva Sureshwaren  1m53.213s  + 2.379s
21.  Natalia Kowalska      1m53.273s  + 2.439s
22.  Julian Theobald       1m53.275s  + 2.441s
23.  Plamen Kralev         1m53.572s  + 2.738s
24.  Sung-Hak Mun          1m54.128s  + 3.294s

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