Maiden pole for Hulkenberg at Taupo

Duval headed the times after two of the four sessions, but series leader Hulkenberg powered to the top of the times with the fastest ever lap of the track - 1:14.072 - to move into pole.

Duval pushed to the limit and beyond - crossing the line with all four wheels on the grass on his final lap - but he could not find the three tenths needed to take the top spot.

"It's a great day," said Hulkenberg. "It was quite tough, because there was a lot of dirt on the track. But in the end I was fast enough."

Crowd favourite Jonny Reid was a constant presence in the top three but failed to make the front row by just over 0.3 seconds. Nevertheless, Reid showed strong pace and is certain to be a factor in the race.

Jeroen Bleekemolen was a surprise challenger and could have finished higher than fourth but for a technical problem during session three that prevented him from running.

Sebastien Buemi was the biggest improver from practice to snatch an excellent fifth.

Robbie Kerr leaped into sixth on his final effort for Team GB, after struggling early on, while James Hinchliffe lines up next to Kerr in seventh in the sister Team Canada car.

Narain Karthikeyan secured an A1GP best for team India in 10th despite a scrappy qualifying that included two grassy moments.