Final qualifying: Pole for Wirdheim

The Prema Powerteam driver, who had only qualified 13th in the first session, beat pre-event favourite Takuma Sato into second place with a lap of 2m11.983s in the dying minutes.

"I am very proud to be here in pole position as a rookie," said Wirdheim. "I was not expecting to be here. I am happy for the team and they are very professional. I wouldn't have this result if it wasn't for them."

Sato was down in ninth with 10 minutes of qualifying remaining, but despite being caught out by traffic on several occasions, the Japanese ace managed to take second spot.

"I was held up a few times by traffic," said Sato. "The car was a bit unbalanced. It is a shame, but being on the front row is good enough for me."

Frenchman Jonathan Cochet finished third on his return to Formula 3 competition. He had moved to the top of the time sheets briefly in the closing minutes, but was unable to respond once Wirdheim and Sato had set their times.

Provisional pole-sitter Paolo Montin had gearbox problems in the morning and finished fourth just ahead of Japanese Formula 3 Champion Benoit Treluyer in fifth and Briton Andy Priaulx in sixth.

For full qualifying times, click here.