Manning grabs pole for Silverstone

Manning had a stunning end to the second qualifying session for the Silverstone F3000 round, beating all the first session times, and setting two laps that would have been good enough for pole.

Manning beat fellow Yorkshireman Justin Wilson's morning time in his Arden Lola, and then proceeded to move the pole time out of reach in the dying seconds of the qualifying round.

Wilson had carried on where he left off the first session, by setting the pace. When Manning began to string together some fast sector times towards the end of the spin-strewn qualifying, it looked as though the fight for pole would boil down to a tussle between the two young Britons.

However, Mark Webber once again used his last lap to summon something special and split Manning and Wilson in his European Formula Lola Zytek. The Arrows F1 test driver was ecstatic to have gone one better than his second row San Marino qualifying position, and his provisional slot from the 1st session.

The session matched the format of the first, with soaking conditions gradually drying throughout the hour. It was three quarters of an hour before any drivers beat the top times from the morning, with the exception of Ananda Mikola, who had not set a representative time.

Top ten
1 D Manning 1.56.776
2 M Webber 1.56.947
3 J Wilson 1. 57.074
4 E Bernoldi 1.57.259
5 B Junqueira 1.57.313
6 F Alonso 1.57.476
7 S Ayari 1.57.713
8 F Walfisch 1.57.921
9 F Montagny 1.58.088
10 K Kolby 1.58.140