Photo: Auto GP
Riccardo Agostini, the champion of the now-defunct Italian F3, took a commandeering pole position for round one of the Auto GP World Series at Monza.
The session saw multiple leaders, with another Italian F3 champion – Sergio Campana – sitting on top of the timesheets for five minutes to go. However, his time was bested by Agostini, who proceeded to improve on his already pole-setting lap, increasing the gap to those behind.
Campana managed to complete the front row, with fellow Italians Vittorio Ghirelli and Andrea Roda in third and fourth. Robert Visoiu was the highest-placed non-Italian, taking fifth ahead of Euronova drivers Kimiya Sato and Yoshitaka Kuroda.
The top ten was completed by Giuseppe Cipriani, Giacomo Ricci and Luciano Bacheta. Ex-F1 driver Narain Karthikeyan was only 12th.
The opening race is scheduled to take place at 13.05 GMT tomorrow.
Qualifying results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Riccardo Agostini | Manor MP | 1:35.782 | 14 | |
| 2 | Sergio Campana | Ibiza Racing | 1:36.455 | +0.673 | 10 |
| 3 | Vittorio Ghirelli | Super Nova | 1:36.524 | +0.742 | 15 |
| 4 | Andrea Roda | Virtuosi UK | 1:36.717 | +0.936 | 16 |
| 5 | Robert Visoiu | Ghinzani | 1:36.845 | +1.063 | 16 |
| 6 | Kimiya Sato | Euronova | 1:36.922 | +1.140 | 15 |
| 7 | Yoshitaka Kuroda | Euronova | 1:37.120 | +1.338 | 15 |
| 8 | Giuseppe Cipriani | Ibiza Racing | 1:37.203 | +1.412 | 16 |
| 9 | Giacomo Ricci | MLR71 | 1:37.315 | +1.533 | 10 |
| 10 | Luciano Bacheta | Zele Racing | 1:37.327 | +1.545 | 14 |
| 11 | Antonio Spavone | Super Nova | 1:37.327 | +1.545 | 15 |
| 12 | Narain Karthikeyan | Zele Racing | 1:37.487 | +1.705 | 13 |
| 13 | Max Snegirev | Virtuosi UK | 1:37.832 | +2.050 | 14 |
| 14 | Meindert van Buuren | Manor MP | 1:38.827 | +3.045 | 3 |
| 15 | Michele La Rosa | MLR71 | 1:42.641 | +6.859 | 9 |