Tamas Pal Kiss took his maiden Auto GP World Series pole position at Estoril as the Virtuosi UK driver beat 2013 series champion Vittorio Ghirelli of Super Nova International by just 0.083s.
Despite only ten cars competing, it was an exciting qualifying session, with ex-Formula 1 driver Antonio Pizzonia finishing third for Zele Racing, with his best lap time only 0.175s shy of the pole time.
Markus Pommer will start race 1 on Sunday from fourth in the second of the Super Nova International entries, while Shinya Michimi of Euronova Racing and Andrea Roda of Virtuosi UK will share row three.
Michele La Rosa was seventh for MLR71 by Euronova ahead of Super Nova International’s third driver Francesco Dracone, while Salvatore de Plano will start ninth for FMS Racing despite being over seven seconds slower than the pole time.
Unfortunately for Zele Racing’s debutant Luis Sa Silva, the Macau-born driver was unable to set a lap time in qualifying after a suspected electrical fault brought out the red flags early in the session with his car stranded at the side of the Portuguese circuit.
Estoril Qualifying Times
| POS | DRIVER | NAT | TEAM | TIME |
| 1 | Tamas Pal Kiss | HUN | Virtuosi UK | 1:28.759 |
| 2 | Vittorio Ghirelli | ITA | Super Nova International | 1:28.842 |
| 3 | Antonio Pizzonia | BRZ | Zele Racing | 1:28.934 |
| 4 | Markus Pommer | GER | Super Nova International | 1:29.292 |
| 5 | Shinya Michimi | JAP | Euronova Racing | 1:29.484 |
| 6 | Andrea Roda | ITA | Virtuosi UK | 1:29.527 |
| 7 | Michele La Rosa | ITA | MLR71 by Euronova | 1:31.081 |
| 8 | Francesco Dracone | ITA | Super Nova International | 1:31.817 |
| 9 | Salvatore de Plano | ITA | FMS Racing | 1:36.102 |
| 10 | Luis Sa Silva | MAC | Zele Racing | No Time |
