Parente Claims First Pole at Spa
Carlin driver Alvaro Parente has claimed pole for this weekend's first British Formula Three race at Spa Francorchamps
Parente, who didn't make the grid at the season opener in Donington due to sponsorship problems, was surprisingly quick in the dry session, stopping the clock with a lap of 2 minutes 14.990 to claim pole just 0.027 seconds ahead of Marko Asmer.
The pair have been the fastest drivers in practice, with Asmer half a second to the good in both sessions, but in qualifying the Portuguese driver found enough to edge out his rival.
The session was briefly red flagged after Barton Mauer ran off track and hit the wall. The crash looked worse than it was, and the Australian was unhurt in the incident.
Ryan Lewis was disappointing in qualifying after running third quickest in practice - his qualifying time was only good enough for eighth on the grid. Christian Bakkerud's session ran the opposite way, ending up third after being no higher than sixth in practice.
Tim Bridgeman and Dan Clarke rounded out the top five in qualifying, running consistent times all day, while series leader Danilo Dirani could run no higher than tenth on the opening day.
Salvador Duran was the leading National class driver, five hundredths ahead of Charlie Hollings.
British Formula Three First Qualifying, Spa Francorchamps
Pos Driver Chassis/Engine Time Gap Laps 1. Alvaro Parente Dallara F305 Honda 2:14.990 12 2. Marko Asmer Dallara F305 Honda 2:15.017 +0.027 15 3. Christian Bakkerud Dallara F305 Honda 2:15.488 +0.498 13 4. Tim Bridgman Dallara F305 Honda 2:15.592 +0.602 15 5. Daniel Clarke Dallara F305 Honda 2:15.713 +0.723 14 6. Charlie Kimball Dallara F305 Honda 2:15.741 +0.751 11 7. James Walker Dallara F305 Opel 2:15.941 +0.951 14 8. Ryan Lewis Dallara F305 Honda 2:16.275 +1.285 13 9. Mike Conway Dallara F305 Opel 2:16.287 +1.297 12 10. Danilo Dirani Lola B05/30 Honda 2:16.348 +1.358 11 11. Michael Herck Dallara F305 Opel 2:16.521 +1.531 9 12. Stephen Jelley Dallara F305 Opel 2:16.844 +1.854 15 13. Bruno Senna Dallara F305 Honda 2:17.004 +2.014 13 14. Salvador Duran Dallara F304 Honda 2:17.153 +2.163 11 15. Charlie Hollings Lola-Dome F106/4 Honda 2:17.205 +2.215 14 16. Steven Kane Lola B05/30 Honda 2:17.416 +2.426 13 17. Ronayne O'mahony Dallara F305 Opel 2:17.484 +2.494 14 18. Suk Sandher Dallara F304 Honda 2:18.150 +3.160 15 19. Keiko Ihara Dallara F305 Honda 2:18.156 +3.166 14 20. Jonathan Kennard Dallara F304 Honda 2:18.541 +3.551 14 21. Juho Annala Dallara F304 Honda 2:18.646 +3.656 13 22. Josh Fisher Dallara F304 Honda 2:18.680 +3.690 13 23. Lou Men Cheong Dallara F304 Honda 2:21.129 +6.139 13 24. Ricardo Teixeira Dallara F304 Honda 2:21.584 +6.594 14 25. Nick Jones Dallara F304 Honda 2:22.496 +7.506 14 26. Barton Mawer Dallara F304 Honda 2:23.140 +8.150 2
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