Iowa Indy Lights: Max Chilton leads Carlin qualifying 1-2

The Brit, who made his oval debut a week ago at Milwaukee, was the second-last driver to make his qualifying run and leaned on a low-downforce set-up to claim the top spot with a two-lap average of 162.293mph, relegating team-mate and fellow rookie Ed Jones to the outside of the front row.

"I can't tell you how difficult it is for a European to come over to the ovals; they feel very alien," he said.

"We went for another big chunk [in set-up] and went for a bit of a gamble, and it was probably a bit too much of a gamble - the rear was sliding around a bit at the end - but we managed to get the pole."

Jones said that his performance was the reward for the work that he and the team had put in during the past couple of days of testing and practice.

"Every time we're going out on ovals we're trying to improve as much as possible," he said.

"The past two days of testing here have been a massive jump for us, we've learned a lot.

"We decided to run a more secure [downforce] package [than Chilton] to give me confidence, but we managed to lock out the front row.

"It's a great result because all of the other teams have so much more experience on ovals."

Championship leader Jack Harvey will start from third, with main rival Spencer Pigot facing that prospect of having to climb through the field from ninth.

QUALIFYING RESULTS: