Kovalainen keeps pole

Yellow flags flew midway through a session that was ultimately interrupted by no less than three stoppages. A spate of fast times were set during these few minutes, and more than half the field ended up getting penalised for them.

"It was quite a messy session," said Kovalainen. "I could have gone quicker but my best lap on new tyres got interrupted by the red. But anyway, it turned out that the tyres were still good enough for a quick lap!"

Kovalainen (Pons Racing) remained on top although his best time was erased, but Narain Karthikeyan (RC Motorsport) and Enrique Bernoldi (GD Racing) lost second and fourth positions respectively. Tristan Gommendy benefited to go from third to second in his Saulnier Racing entry, whilst Carlin Motorsport's Tiago Monteiro bumped up to third on the revised grid.

Kovalainen will also line up on the front row for the first race, after a first session that was thankfully clear of any stoppages. He'll start behind Portugal's Monteiro, who set a great lap late in the session. Bernoldi will get away third, ahead of Karthikeyan.

"It feels great," said Monteiro. "It's the first pole for me and Carlin together, and I didn't know the track. The car handled perfectly this morning, and I am happy for myself and the team. But the second session was messy!"

Most drivers and teams were unhappy about the second-session stoppages, claiming that their best opportunities were compromised by the red flags. Two of the reds came about because of shunts, one for Ryo Fukuda and one for a shaken Gommendy. The second flag (preceded by the yellow that caused all the trouble) was also seen by some as being unnecessary as it was only for a car stopped alongside the track on a straight section of road.

The day's big story came when Ralph Firman decided not to continue the weekend with the Gabord Reyco squad. The British driver left the circuit this morning, simply telling the team that he didn't feel happy in the car. He had finished the previous day's practice sessions in 15th place overall.