India takes maiden A1GP pole
Former grand prix driver Narain Karthikeyan made A1GP history by putting Team India on pole position for the first time, in qualifying for the Feature Race at Brands Hatch on Sunday
In a hectic final session that saw times and positions tumble so that the timesheet looked like a wheel on a fruit machine, Karthikeyan, who has threatened all weekend, outpaced local hero Robbie Kerr by 0.227s with his lap of 1:14.682.
Team GBR maintained a front row spot however, as Kerr's attempt to do the double and win both the Sprint and the Feature races at his home track stayed on course.
On pole for the briefest of moments was Neel Jani for Switzerland. The championship leaders only need three points to win the title and now look unstoppable, especially considering Jonny Reid's 16th position on the grid.
Adam Carroll was fourth for Team Ireland ahead of Germany's Michael Ammermuller and France's Franck Montagny.
Montagny, who has never before driven at Brands Hatch, could have qualified higher still but found his path blocked by slower traffic as he entered Clearways on his best lap.
Adrian Zaugg was third in first segment of qualifying for the Feature Race, but dropped to seventh in the final analysis and will start alongside this morning's star of practice, Congfu Cheng.
Behind China, was Holland with Jeroen Bleekemolen beating Portugal's Filipe Abuquerque to ninth position.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Narain Karthikeyan India 1:14.682 2. Robbie Kerr Great Britain 1:14.909 +0.227 3. Neel Jani Switzerland 1:14.957 +0.275 4. Adam Carroll Ireland 1:15.020 +0.338 5. Michael Ammermuller Germany 1:15.042 +0.360 6. Franck Montagny France 1:15.266 +0.584 7. Adrian Zaugg South Africa 1:15.284 +0.602 8. Cheng Cong Fu China 1:15.313 +0.631 9. Jonathan Summerton USA 1:15.398 +0.716 10. Jeroen Bleekemolen Netherlands 1:15.620 +0.938 11. Filipe Albuquerque Portugal 1:15.627 +0.945 12. Fairuz Fauzy Malaysia 1:15.664 +0.982 13. James Hinchcliffe Canada 1:15.667 +0.985 14. Xandi Negrao Brazil 1:15.671 +0.989 15. Filip Salaquarda Czech Republic 1:15.690 +1.008 16. Edoardo Piscopo Italy 1:15.827 +1.145 17. Jonny Reid New Zealand 1:16.003 +1.321 18. Adam Khan Pakistan 1:16.063 +1.381 19. John Martin Australia 1:16.175 +1.493 20. Satrio Hermanto Indonesia 1:16.876 +2.194 21. Khalil Beschir Lebanon 1:16.942 +2.260 22. David Martínez Mexico 1:17.062 +2.380
Share Or Save This Story
Archive: How Button achieved a rare Formula Ford feat
Why the Nurburgring 24 Hours is better than ever
Is Forza still king of the gaming hill?
How Sutton shone while Ingram’s luck deserted him at Brands Hatch
Behind the debate over F1's future engines is a battle for control
The British GT star who is running ultramarathons to rounds for charity
Edmundson stars in Minis as the BTCC supports entertain at Brands Hatch
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments