Photo: Andersen Promotions
Emirati driver Ed Jones narrowly beat Brit Max Chilton to pole position for the first race of the 2015 Indy Lights season at St. Pete.
The Carlin duo dominated the second half of the qualifying session, pulling clear of the field as they changed places in first and second lap after lap.
Chilton dethroned Jones with two minutes to go, only to have the Emirati take the spot back a few seconds later. The very same pattern repeated at the checkered flag, as Jones snatched pole from the ex-F1 driver by 0.09s.
SPM’s Jack Harvey was the best of the rest, lingering in sixth at the halfway point but improving dramatically on newer tyres to take third.
Scott Hargrove demoted his former Pro Mazda title rival Spencer Pigot to fifth, with Kyle Kaiser locking out row three for Juncos.
Felix Serralles took seventh for his Lights debut, ahead of top Andretti driver Matthew Brabham, rookie RC Enerson and sophomore Scott Anderson.
The only stoppage in the session was caused by Shelby Blackstock after just two minutes as the American backed his IL-15 into the wall.
Race results
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Ed Jones | Carlin | 1:05.319 | 17 | |
| 2 | Max Chilton | Carlin | 1:05.405 | 0.086 | 17 |
| 3 | Jack Harvey | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:05.862 | 0.543 | 19 |
| 4 | Scott Hargrove | 8 Star Motorsports | 1:05.922 | 0.603 | 18 |
| 5 | Spencer Pigot | Juncos Racing | 1:06.128 | 0.809 | 18 |
| 6 | Kyle Kaiser | Juncos Racing | 1:06.341 | 1.022 | 17 |
| 7 | Felix Serralles | Belardi Auto Racing | 1:06.364 | 1.044 | 20 |
| 8 | Matthew Brabham | Andretti Autosport | 1:06.678 | 1.359 | 19 |
| 9 | RC Enerson | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:06.720 | 1.401 | 19 |
| 10 | Scott Anderson | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:07.063 | 1.744 | 19 |
| 11 | Juan Piedrahita | Belardi Auto Racing | 1:07.078 | 1.759 | 20 |
| 12 | Shelby Blackstock | Andretti Autosport | 1:07.579 | 2.260 | 12 |
| 13 | Ethan Ringel | Schmidt Peterson Motorsports | 1:07.758 | 2.439 | 17 |