Gamble gives Petrov maiden pole
A brave decision to use slick tyres on a wet track paid off and gave Vitaly Petrov his first GP2 pole position at Sentul, Indonesia, today
The Russian will start the afternoon's GP2 Asia feature race from the front after he was the only driver to set a time on slicks early in the session. A red flag and a heavy shower stopped anyone threatening his time, and left him 3.5 seconds clear of second-placed Luca Filippi.
There were puddles of standing water on the track as the session began, but Petrov and his Campos Racing team took a gamble on slicks. The 30°C heat helped the water to evaporate quickly and a dry line emerged after just a few laps.
"I'm very happy, we definitely made the right decision," the Russian said. "I could sit in the pits for most of the session after that because there was so much rain."
He set a 1:19.3 lap, 4.5 seconds quicker than anyone else at the time. The rest of the field dived into the pits for slicks but nobody had a chance to match Petrov's time because Michael Herck and Romain Grosjean spun and got stranded on the same lap, causing a red flag.
Grosjean was fortunate to be able to take any further part in the session - his car was deemed to be in a dangerous place, so he was allowed a push from the marshals and he returned to the pits.
But before the session could resume, the day's changeable weather continued and another downpour soaked the circuit and forced everyone back on to wets.
With Petrov's pole time safe, the battle for second was won in the final minute by Filippi.
Adrian Valles was third with Grosjean recovering from his off to take fourth.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Petrov Campos Team 1:19.337 15 2. Filippi Qi-Meritus Mahara 1:22.390 + 3.053 17 3. Valles Fisichella Motor Sport 1:22.658 + 3.321 15 4. Grosjean ART Grand Prix 1:22.751 + 3.414 15 5. Fauzy Super Nova Racing 1:22.782 + 3.445 18 6. Bakkerud Super Nova Racing 1:23.141 + 3.804 19 7. Chandhok iSport International 1:23.161 + 3.824 14 8. Schleghelmilch Trident Racing 1:23.241 + 3.904 15 9. Buemi Trust Team Arden 1:23.266 + 3.929 16 10. Senna iSport International 1:23.367 + 4.030 14 11. Tung Trident Racing 1:23.539 + 4.202 18 12. Bonanomi Piquet Sports 1:23.758 + 4.421 17 13. Yoshimoto Qi-Meritus Mahara 1:23.922 + 4.585 9 14. Valsecchi Durango 1:23.943 + 4.606 17 15. Pavlovic BCN Competicion 1:23.959 + 4.622 17 16. Valerio Durango 1:24.046 + 4.709 17 17. D'ambrosio Dams 1:24.163 + 4.826 13 18. Hanley Campos Team 1:24.274 + 4.937 15 19. Khan Trust Team Arden 1:24.382 + 5.045 18 20. Tahinci BCN Competicion 1:24.713 + 5.376 19 21. Nunes DPR 1:24.737 + 5.400 17 22. Ebrahim DPR 1:25.084 + 5.747 14 23. Jelley ART Grand Prix 1:25.104 + 5.767 12 24. Kobayashi Dams 1:25.416 + 6.079 13 25. Herck Fisichella Motor Sport 1:25.907 + 6.570 15
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