Bruni takes first pole for Trident

The ex-Minardi Formula One driver outpaced his rivals in a close-fought session during which different drivers held the top spot.

The ART pair of Alex Premat and Lewis Hamilton were first to show, but it was Super Nova's Jose Maria Lopez who broke the 1m33s barrier.

Bruni just shaded the Argentine's time, and for a while the top three were covered by under a tenth, but a stunning late effort from the Italian confirmed pole with an advantage of three tenths.

Lopez held second despite a late spin, while Hamilton lines up third and Premat fourth. Hiro Yoshimoto did a great job for BCN to take fifth, while championship leader Nelson Piquet Junior was sixth.

Last year's sprint race winner Adam Carroll took a creditable seventh for Racing Engineering, just ahead of last year's pole sitter, Arden's Nicolas Lapierre.

Pos  Driver         Team                      Time              Laps
 1.  Bruni          Trident Racing            1:32.691           13
 2.  Lopez          Super Nova International  1:32.941  + 0.250  12
 3.  Hamilton       ART Grand Prix            1:32.990  + 0.299  11
 4.  Premat         ART Grand Prix            1:33.138  + 0.447  9
 5.  Yoshimoto      BCN Competicion           1:33.342  + 0.651  14
 6.  Piquet Jr.     Piquet Sports             1:33.402  + 0.711  12
 7.  Carroll        Racing Engineering        1:33.450  + 0.759  8
 8.  Lapierre       Arden International       1:33.519  + 0.828  12
 9.  Ammermueller   Arden International       1:33.602  + 0.911  11
10.  Piccione       DPR                       1:33.626  + 0.935  11
11.  Porteiro       Campos Racing             1:33.713  + 1.022  14
12.  Viso           iSport International      1:33.733  + 1.042  14
13.  Pla            DPR                       1:33.892  + 1.201  10
14.  Filippi        FMS International         1:33.955  + 1.264  12
15.  Valles         Campos Racing             1:34.048  + 1.357  13
16.  Gommendy       iSport International      1:34.116  + 1.425  15
17.  Zuber          Trident Racing            1:34.181  + 1.490  12
18.  Negrao         Piquet Sports             1:34.219  + 1.528  14
19.  Perera         DAMS                      1:34.230  + 1.539  12
20.  Monfardini     DAMS                      1:34.369  + 1.678  9
21.  Glock          BCN Competicion           1:34.371  + 1.680  11
22.  Grassi         Durango                   1:34.405  + 1.714  14
23.  Fauzy          Super Nova International  1:34.697  + 2.006  15
24.  Tahinci        FMS International         1:35.397  + 2.706  14
25.  Hernandez      Durango                   1:35.583  + 2.892  12
26.  Villa          Racing Engineering        1:35.861  + 3.170  12

All Timing Unofficial