Liuzzi takes Imola pole
Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi put his Arden car emphatically on pole position for this weekend's opening Formula 3000 round, with a stunning lap over half a second quicker than any of his rivals could manage
Liuzzi waited in the pits for the first half of the session before completing a handful of quick laps, the best of which put him 0.572s clear of the pack.
Liuzzi was a frontrunner in the series last year and has firmed up his status as one of the championship favourites with this performance. He drives for the Arden team, which took Bjorn Wirdheim to the title last year.
Fellow seasoned F3000 hands Enrico Toccacello and Jeffrey van Hooydonk set the second and third best times for BCN and Coloni.
Formula Renault V6 Champion Jose Maria Lopez was the top rookie. The young Argentinean driver topped the times for much of the session, before being bumped down the order in the closing stages.
F3000 returnee Thomas Enge set the fifth best time for the new MA-CON team, just faster than Liuzzi's Arden team-mate Robert Doornbos.
Reigning British Formula 3 champion Alan van der Merwe was 12th fastest on his series debut with Supernova.
Two drivers - Tony Schmidt and Jan Heylen - crashed separately, but almost identically at the second chicane towards the end of qualifying.
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