Bianchi takes Silverstone pole
Jules Bianchi topped a close-fought GP2 qualifying session at Silverstone to claim pole for tomorrow's feature race
Seven different drivers took turns up front, but Bianchi (ART) finally secured the honours with a best lap of 1m39.189s, enough to put him 0.136 seconds clear of Pastor Maldonado (Rapax).
Racing Engineering's rookie Christian Vietoris was an excellent third, although the German will drop to 13th due to a 10-place grid penalty carried over from the previous round in Valencia. Similar penalties await 2009 Silverstone winner Alberto Valerio (Coloni), who was ninth fastest, and Trident's Johny Cecotto, who was 18th.
Vietoris' demotion means that his team-mate Dani Clos will start from third alongside iSport's Oliver Turvey, with ART's Sam Bird and Arden's Charles Pic just behind them, the latter having rebounded well from losing virtually all of free practice to an engine problem.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Jules Bianchi ART 1m39.189s 2. Pastor Maldonado Rapax 1m39.325s + 0.136s 3. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering 1m39.423s + 0.234s 4. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1m39.653s + 0.464s 5. Oliver Turvey iSport 1m39.701s + 0.512s 6. Sam Bird ART 1m39.756s + 0.567s 7. Charles Pic Arden 1m39.791s + 0.602s 8. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax 1m39.809s + 0.620s 9. Alberto Valerio Coloni 1m39.811s + 0.622s 10. Sergio Perez Barwa Addax 1m39.894s + 0.705s 11. Davide Valsecchi iSport 1m39.901s + 0.712s 12. Jerome D'Ambrosio DAMS 1m39.941s + 0.752s 13. Luca Filippi Super Nova 1m39.984s + 0.795s 14. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1m40.288s + 1.099s 15. Michael Herck DPR 1m40.342s + 1.153s 16. Marcus Ericsson Super Nova 1m40.511s + 1.322s 17. Luiz Razia Rapax 1m40.559s + 1.370s 18. Johnny Cecotto Trident 1m40.747s + 1.558s 19. Adrian Zaugg Trident 1m40.812s + 1.623s 20. Max Chilton Ocean 1m41.046s + 1.857s 21. Rodolfo Gonzalez Arden 1m41.344s + 2.155s 22. Fabio Leimer Ocean 1m41.548s + 2.359s 23. Vlado Arabadjiev Coloni 1m41.654s + 2.465s
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