W Series Silverstone: Brit Powell takes pole for home event
Alice Powell took pole position in W Series qualifying at her home round at Silverstone as part of the Formula 1 British Grand Prix support package.
The Brit, driving for Racing X, went quickest during the 30-minute session with a time of 1m57.235s, repeatedly shaving tenths off her own personal bests to take the top spot for the second time so far this season.
The championship leader will start alongside Fabienne Wohlwend, the Bunker Racing driver recording her second equal best starting position in the series.
Reigning champion Jamie Chadwick will start third for Veloce Racing, with 2019 series runner-up Beitske Visser (M Forbes Motorsport) in fourth.
Ecurie W’s Emma Kimilainen starts fifth, with W Series Academy member Nerea Marti in sixth and Brits Sarah Moore (Scuderia W) and Abbi Pulling, making her W Series debut having been listed as a reserve, in seventh and eighth respectively.
Sabre Cook was first out on track in her Bunker Racing sponsored car, leading the pack out for the 30-minute qualifying session.
Chadwick went quickest as drivers posted their first flying laps, leading with a 1m59.336 ahead of Pulling, who was five tenths slower.
Ayla Agren was late to set a first lap in her M Forbes Motorsport car, eventually posting a time which put her in 16th place, before she shot up the timesheet to fifth with a 1m59.110s.
Just after the halfway mark, Powell took the top spot, setting a 1m57.831s – almost half a second faster than Chadwick in second.
The pair led from Kimilainen and Visser, the latter having not scored any points this year after two unfortunate races in Austria.
Wohlwend snatched pole with less than five minutes to go, posting a 1m57.597s – just two thousandths ahead of Powell – before the Brit recaptured the top spot minutes later by three tenths.
Abbie Eaton (Ecurie W) stopped for a ride height change with 12 minutes to go, gambling on a late stop to put her up to 12th, while Vicky Piria of Sirin Racing had a front wing change.
Jessica Hawkins, who completes the group of six Brits competing this weekend, qualified in tenth for Racing X.
W Series Silverstone qualifying
| Cla | Drivers | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alice Powell | 1'57.235 | |
| 2 |  Fabienne Wohlwend | 1'57.597 | 0.362 |
| 3 | Jamie Chadwick | 1'57.760 | 0.525 |
| 4 |  Beitske Visser | 1'57.939 | 0.704 |
| 5 |  Emma Kimilainen | 1'58.007 | 0.772 |
| 6 | Nerea Martí | 1'58.026 | 0.791 |
| 7 | Sarah Moore | 1'58.089 | 0.854 |
| 8 | Abbi Pulling | 1'58.202 | 0.967 |
| 9 |  Marta Garcia | 1'58.270 | 1.035 |
| 10 | Jessica Hawkins | 1'58.294 | 1.059 |
| 11 | Belén García | 1'58.416 | 1.181 |
| 12 | Abbie Eaton | 1'58.460 | 1.225 |
| 13 |  Vicky Piria | 1'58.548 | 1.313 |
| 14 | Ayla Agren | 1'58.626 | 1.391 |
| 15 |  Bruna Tomaselli | 1'58.639 | 1.404 |
| 16 | Irina Sidorkova | 1'58.808 | 1.573 |
| 17 |  Miki Koyama | 1'58.857 | 1.622 |
| 18 |  Sabre Cook | 1'59.420 | 2.185 |
| View full results | |||
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