Photo: Formula Regional by Alpine
Michael Belov bounced back from a poor morning qualifying to take a dominant pole position for race one in the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine at Spa.
Belov, who had been fastest in both Friday test sessions, finished over half a second clear of R-ace GP pair of Hadrien David and Isack Hadjar.
In dry conditions, G4 Racing driver Belov was the only driver to get under 2m16s in the 20-minute session. He moved to the top of the times with his third lap and subsequently improved his time further to ensure the top spot.
Rookie Dino Beganovic put in an amazing last lap to jump ahead of Prema Powerteam team-mate Paul Aron and R-ace GP’s Zane Maloney to take an impressive fourth place.
The third row on the grid will be occupied by Franco Colapinto (MP Motorsport) and David Vidales (Prema Powerteam). William Alatalo of Arden took ninth ahead of Finnish compatriot Patrik Pasma, who was the fastest of the ART Grand Prix trio on his first weekend with the team.
Team-mate Gabriele Mini, second in the morning session, could do no better than 12th. He was not alone in struggling to repeat his earlier result. Having starred in the morning session, rookies Elias Seppanen, Kas Haverkort and Dexter Patterson finished down the order in 19th, 21st and 22nd places respectively.
For the first time since Monaco back in May, championship leader Gregoire Saucy will start a race from a position other than pole.
Saucy seemed to struggle throughout the session and ended up down in 24th place, 2.216s down on Belov. He was held up by Nico Gohler on one lap and then ran wide at Stavelot on his final tour.
Qualifying results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Belov | G4 Racing | 2m15.760s | 8 | |
| 2 | Hadrien David | R-ace GP | 2m16.262s | +0.502s | 9 |
| 3 | Isack Hadjar | R-ace GP | 2m16.407s | +0.647s | 9 |
| 4 | Dino Beganovic | Prema | 2m16.471s | +0.711s | 9 |
| 5 | Zane Maloney | R-ace GP | 2m16.593s | +0.833s | 9 |
| 6 | Paul Aron | Prema | 2m16.604s | +0.844s | 9 |
| 7 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | 2m16.717s | +0.957s | 9 |
| 8 | David Vidales | Prema | 2m16.758s | +0.998s | 9 |
| 9 | William Alatalo | Arden | 2m16.803s | +1.043s | 9 |
| 10 | Patrik Pasma | ART Grand Prix | 2m16.895s | +1.135s | 9 |
| 11 | Alex Quinn | Arden | 2m17.056s | +1.296s | 9 |
| 12 | Gabriele Mini | ART Grand Prix | 2m17.118s | +1.358s | 9 |
| 13 | Mari Boya | Van Amersfoort Racing | 2m17.251s | +1.491s | 9 |
| 14 | Ido Cohen | JD Motorsport | 2m17.378s | +1.618s | 9 |
| 15 | Oliver Goethe | MP Motorsport | 2m17.383s | +1.623s | 9 |
| 16 | Eduardo Barrichello | JD Motorsport | 2m17.404s | +1.644s | 9 |
| 17 | Pietro Delli Guanti | Monolite Racing | 2m17.614s | +1.854s | 8 |
| 18 | Andrea Rosso | FA Racing by MP | 2m17.640s | +1.880s | 9 |
| 19 | Elias Seppanen | KIC Motorsport | 2m17.667s | +1.907s | 9 |
| 20 | Gabriel Bortoleto | FA Racing by MP | 2m17.701s | +1.941s | 9 |
| 21 | Kas Haverkort | MP Motorsport | 2m17.720s | +1.960s | 9 |
| 22 | Dexter Patterson | Monolite Racing | 2m17.782s | +2.022s | 8 |
| 23 | Lorenzo Fluxa | Van Amersfoort Racing | 2m17.850s | +2.090s | 9 |
| 24 | Gregoire Saucy | ART Grand Prix | 2m17.976s | +2.216s | 9 |
| 25 | Francesco Pizzi | Van Amersfoort Racing | 2m17.978s | +2.218s | 9 |
| 26 | Tommy Smith | JD Motorsport | 2m18.178s | +2.418s | 9 |
| 27 | Alexandre Bardinon | FA Racing by MP | 2m18.220s | +2.460s | 9 |
| 28 | Emidio Pesce | DR Formula | 2m18.283s | +2.523s | 9 |
| 29 | Nicola Marinangeli | Arden | 2m18.318s | +2.558s | 9 |
| 30 | Axel Gnos | G4 Racing | 2m18.624s | +2.864s | 8 |
| 31 | Nico Gohler | KIC Motorsport | 2m18.625s | +2.865s | 9 |
| 32 | Jasin Ferati | KIC Motorsport | 2m18.644s | +2.884s | 9 |
| 33 | Lena Buhler | R-ace GP | 2m19.375s | +3.615s | 9 |