Abu Dhabi GP3: Toro Rosso F1 signing Daniil Kvyat takes pole

MW Arden driver Kvyat lapped the Yas Marina circuit in 1m55.473s to take pole, while ART's Regalia struggled to find pace and will start 10th.

Kvyat is now just three points behind as a result of the four bonus points for pole.

Regalia, whose struggle for grip was clear as he slid onto the run-off during one of his early runs, made a rear suspension change for his second effort on fresh tyres but to little avail.

Carlin's Nick Yelloly will start alongside Kvyat on the front row, with another title contender, Kevin Korjus, in third.

Korjus showed great pace through the opening two sectors, but appeared to struggle in the switchback section around the hotel.

Alexander Sims continued to perform well in his continued late-season cameo with Carlin and starts fourth, ahead of championship outsider Jack Harvey of ART.

Carlos Sainz Jr qualified sixth, salvaging a decent starting position as his best time was disallowed for what video replays suggested was a very marginal track-limits call at the final corner.

Conor Daly, who is fourth in points, starts seventh, ahead of Patric Niederhauser and series debutant Dean Stoneman (pictured), who qualified an impressive ninth for his international single-seater return.

The last of the title contenders, Tio Ellinas, who led the series for the first part of the season, will start 12th.

None of the top six were eliminated from the title fight as a result of missing out on the four points for pole, but there will certainly be casualties in Saturday evening's race, the first-ever main series night race for either GP3 or GP2.

Pos  Driver               Team      Time       Gap
 1.  Daniil Kvyat         MW Arden  1m55.473s
 2.  Nick Yelloly         Carlin    1m55.753s  +0.280s
 3.  Kevin Korjus         Koiranen  1m55.785s  +0.312s
 4.  Alexander Sims       Carlin    1m56.221s  +0.748s
 5.  Jack Harvey          ART       1m56.265s  +0.792s
 6.  Carlos Sainz Jr      MW Arden  1m56.392s  +0.919s
 7.  Conor Daly           ART       1m56.442s  +0.969s
 8.  Patric Niederhauser  Jenzer    1m56.487s  +1.014s
 9.  Dean Stoneman        Koiranen  1m56.560s  +1.087s
10.  Facu Regalia         ART       1m56.722s  +1.249s
11.  Giovanni Venturini   Trident   1m56.730s  +1.257s
12.  Tio Ellinas          Manor     1m56.928s  +1.455s
13.  Jimmy Eriksson       Status    1m57.057s  +1.584s
14.  Robert Visoiu        MW Arden  1m57.095s  +1.622s
15.  Dino Zamparelli      Manor     1m57.281s  +1.808s
16.  Alex Fontana         Jenzer    1m57.420s  +1.947s
17.  Emanuele Zonzini     Trident   1m57.445s  +1.972s
18.  Patrick Kujala       Koiranen  1m57.667s  +2.194s
19.  Luis Sa Silva        Carlin    1m57.967s  +2.494s
20.  Robert Cregan        Trident   1m58.040s  +2.567s
21.  Josh Webster         Status    1m58.115s  +2.642s
22.  Adderly Fong         Status    1m58.328s  +2.855s
23.  Samin Gomez          Jenzer    1m58.522s  +3.049s
24.  Alice Powell         Bamboo    1m58.553s  +3.080s
25.  Ryan Cullen          Manor     1m58.804s  +3.331s
26.  Carmen Jorda         Bamboo    1m59.400s  +3.927s