It was Tom Gamble who took a late pole at Rockingham Motor Speedway in a wet BRDC British F3 Championship qualifying session interrupted by red flags.
The Fortec Motorsport driver was fairly anonymous for the majority of the session, though after a red flag with five minutes remaining came back into contention with a time of 1min 30.689.
Rain and greasy conditions greeted the drivers ahead of the second qualifying of the year at Rockingham. All drivers headed onto the track, unsure of how the weather would turn as time went on.
Two drivers immediately made an impression, with Jamie Chadwick setting the initial benchmark. The best times were a couple of seconds off of Nicolai Kjaergaard‘s best from Friday testing, though the track was in a much worse state on Saturday morning, with many unaware of the capability of the cars.
Also hoping to retain his form was Clement Novalak. The young Brit had taken pole last time out at Oulton Park and was well on his way to repeat the achievement. Sadly, his attempts were cut short as he was forced to come into the pits to change his nose cone.
This left Chadwick out in front until a late lap from Linus Lundqvist stole the top spot away from her. The Douglas Motorsport driver was unable to respond though, with her teammate Arvin Esmaeili spinning out at Chapmans Curve and causing a red flag.
A five-minute sprint would determine the grid, as Tom Gamble surprised everyone by setting a phenomenal final lap to take pole away from Lundqvist. Behind them, Novalak also improved to demote Chadwick to fourth as the flag came out.
Behind them, Jordan Cane, who has now confirmed himself for the rest of the season was on pace with Chadwick in fifth. Meanwhile Indian drivers Kush Mani and Krishnaraaj Mahadik complete the top seven ahead of Manuel Maldonado.
Championship leader Nicolai Kjaergaard is only twelfth ahead of Billy Monger.
