Switzerland secure pole in Dubai

Jani beat fellow GP2 racer Nicolas Lapierre of France by a comfortable 0.633secs following the quirky four-session qualifying system, the first of which was ruined when Mexico's Salvador Duran crashed heavily between turns two and three, which meant only four cars actually set a time.

In the second session there was further drama when Lapierre locked up and plunged off the track, the legacy of his mechanics having failed to assemble his rear brake system correctly following his trouble in the final free practice session.

He had to produce two "safe" laps in the final two sessions to ensure he didn't start from the rear of the grid.

Jani, who also set pole position in Malaysia, said: "I had a very good car and, for sure, we can fight for the win tomorrow. Malaysia was very close, so it would be a nice birthday present to give myself if I can win this one."

Despite his problems, Lapierre admitted: "Neel did a good job. I think he deserved it."

Ireland's Ralph Firman grabbed third by 0.001sec from Brazil's Nelson Piquet Jr on the final lap of the session. The timing screens froze on the pitwall, so the team had to ask Firman what he had done.

"I wanted to know from them, yet they were asking me!" said Firman. "We made some good changes between the sessions, so I'm pleased with the result."

Britain's Robbie Kerr was just 0.007secs slower than Piquet in fourth, but jumped ahead of Germany's Adrian Sutil in the closing moments of the final session. Tomas Enge will start seventh for the Czech Republic, ahead of Malaysia's Alex Yoong and Portugal's Alvaro Parente.