GP3 Series

Luca Ghiotto Flies to Pole Position 

1 Mins read

On home soil, Luca Ghiotto was eager to please his army of loyal supporters and he certainly did just that. The series leader produced a stunning lap in wet conditions which was one second clear ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Esteban Ocon.

Koiranen GP’s Matthew Parry clearly enjoyed the conditions as he posted his best qualifying result of his rookie campaign with third.

Following heavy rain and thunderstorms, the circuit was declared a wet track ahead of the thirty minute qualifying session. Temperatures were much cooler than yesterday’s Free Practice with the drivers tentative in the early stages, the spray being an early factor.

Ghiotto took control early on before ART’s Marvin Kirchhöfer lapped a mere 0.004s faster. At the midway point, Kirchhöfer, Ghiotto and the Arden International duo of Emil Bernstorff and Kevin Ceccon completed the top four.

The track improved each lap, as did the times; with the German bettering his own personal best to dip into the 1m51s. But Ghiotto responded with a laptime 0.077s faster.
The big question at the start of the session was whether the track would sufficiently dry enough for slick tyres to be put on. This was not the case, so the drivers returned to the pitlane to switch to their second set of Pirelli wet tyres.

Ocon then headed the timesheet by almost half a second but Ghiotto was on a mission and flew into the 1m50s, six tenths clear of the Frenchman. Parry jumped up to third as the clock ticked down.

Ghiotto improved yet again on his second flier to re-enforce his commanding pole position. At the chequered flag the top ten finished as: Ghiotto, Ocon, Parry, Ceccon, Bernstorff, Kirchhöfer, Alex Palou (Campos Racing), Antonio Fuoco (Carlin), Seb Morris (Status Grand Prix) and Jimmy Eriksson.

The forty-minute long race starts at 17.20pm local time. The track provides plenty of passing opportunities so predicting the final result will be near impossible.

662 posts

About author
An NCTJ accredited Journalism Graduate covering DTM and the FIA Formula 3 Championship.
Articles
Related posts
GP3 SeriesPorsche Carrera Cup Australia

Joey Mawson set for guest entry for Porsche Carrera Cup Australia

1 Mins read
Upcoming single-seater racer explores sports car options in F1 supporting Porsche Carrera Cup race.
GP3 Series

Giuliano Alesi: "Sometime it Went Good, Sometimes Bad, But I Always Learned From Them"

2 Mins read
Giuliano Alesi looks back on his 2018 GP3 Series, as he prepares for a Formula 2 test this week.
GP3 Series

Ilott Claims Third in GP3 Standings

2 Mins read
Callum Ilott rounds off a strong rookie season in the GP3 Series with third in the championship.