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Ghirelli adds to points advantage with crucial Brno pole

by Valentin Khorounzhiy

Photo: Auto GP World Series

Auto GP championship leader Vittorio Ghirelli has kicked off the final round of the season at Brno by taking his second pole in the series.

The Italian, who led the majority of the session, was challenged for first by both teammate Narain Karthikeyan and Ghinzani’s Kevin Giovesi. However, just as both of his rivals were looking set to improve on his most recent benchmark, the session was red-flagged.

With series guest Josef Kral‘s car in the gravel and two minutes remaining on the clock, there were no subsequent improvements. As such, Ghirelli remained in first, with Giovesi securing a front row spot.

Karthikeyan will share row two with Giovesi’s teammate Robert Visoiu, who recorded his best qualifying performance of the year.

A late effort from Sergio Campana allowed the Ibiza Racing driver to significantly improve his grid position, with the Italian securing fifth, ahead of Tamas Pal Kiss. Meindert van Buuren took seventh, with title challenger Kimiya Sato continuing Euronova’s trend of weak performances in eighth. Daniel de Jong and Andrea Roda rounded out the top ten.

In the standings, Ghirelli now leads Sato by 12 points, with Campana and Karthikeyan 18 and 22 points adrift of first respectively.

Session results
Pos. Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Vittorio Ghirelli Supernova International 1:42.833 14
2 Kevin Giovesi Ghinzani Motorsport 1:43.082 +0.249 14
3 Narain Karthikeyan Supernova International 1:43.337 +0.504 13
4 Robert Visoiu Ghinzani Motorsport 1:43.809 +0.976 14
5 Sergio Campana Ibiza Racing Team 1:43.991 +1.158 14
6 Tamas Pal Kiss Zele Racing 1:44.134 +1.301 15
7 Meindert van Buuren Manor MP Motorsport 1:44.362 +1.529 13
8 Kimiya Sato Euronova Racing 1:44.404 +1.571 13
9 Daniel de Jong Manor MP Motorsport 1:44.440 +1.607 13
10 Andrea Roda Virtuosi UK 1:44.611 +1.778 15
11 Roberto La Rocca Comtec by Virtuosi 1:44.933 +2.100 16
12 Maxim Snegirev Virtuosi UK 1:45.363 +2.530 15
13 Yoshitaka Kuroda Euronova Racing 1:45.828 +2.995 14
14 Josef Kral Zele Racing 1:46.150 +3.317 10
15 Francesco Dracone Ibiza Racing Team 1:46.300 +3.467 15
16 Michela Cerruti MLR 71 1:47.381 +4.548 15
17 Michele La Rosa MLR 71 1:48.622 +5.789 14