Marino Sato cracks Euroformula Open qualifying again at Spa

Photo: Fotospeedy

Marino Sato followed up his Hockenheim double with another Euroformula Open pole position for the first race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Sato’s Motopark team headed out on track later than everyone else, and caught the track at its warmest. This gave the drivers a small window to set a strong lap, which Sato did best, before cloud cover returned.

Joining him on the front row is team-mate Yuki Tsunoda, who aborted his first few attempts before setting a late lap that was 0.253 seconds off Sato’s best.

Double R Racing looked fastest in the middle sector of the long Spa lap, and Jack Doohan will lined up third on the grid, ahead of Teo Martin Motorsport’s Lukas Dunner.

Carlin’s Christian Hahn was fifth fastest, and was compromised on one of his best laps when CF Racing debutant Stuart Wiltshire came onto the track at Turn 8 after letting several cars past. The incident is under investigation.

Linus Lundqvist put the second Double R car in sixth, beating RP Motorsport returnee Javier Gonzalez.

After the clouds returned, the Motopark drivers looked weaker. Mistakes at Pouhon were commonplace, and Liam Lawson and Julian Hanses will line up eighth and 10th.

Pierre-Louis Chovet struggled in the second of the RP cars, qualifying 17th, ahead of debutants Franco Colapinto (Drivex School), Stefano Leaney (CF Racing) and Wiltshire.

Qualifying results