Flying start for Wilson

It is Wilson's third season in the championship but his first with the Petrobras Junior Team.

'I'm feeling pretty pumped up,' the Brazilian said. 'There is real pressure this season because there are more than 40 cars trying to make the race and you have only a single 45-minute qualifying session - there's no time for any mistakes.

'Fortunately our car was pretty good. We haven't tested here, so you have to guess a little bit about ratios and settings, but I'm really pleased with the way things have gone.

'It's nice to get my first pole in F3000 in the first race with my new team, but I'm under no illusions. Saturday's race is going to be incredibly tough.'

Kevin McGarrity (Nordic Racing) joined Wilson on the front row.

'This is a fantastic result for me,' said the Ulsterman, 'and I hope people will take notice. No one has tipped me to do particularly well this year but I know how much we have been able to do during the winter tests and I was always confident we could feature in the top three here.

'I honestly believe the car is good enough to win, but my goal is to get a good, solid points finish.'

The 26 qualifiers were covered by just 1.521 seconds - and the pace was such that three reigning national F3 champions failed to make the cut.