Palmar denies Bailly's pole

Date published : 03 Jul 2010 - 10:41:00

GPUpdatePalmar denies Bailly's poleJolyon Palmer put in a stunning late effort to take pole position for the opening race at the the Algarve - the fourth time the Briton will have started from the front. Palmer's late surge denied Benjamin Bailly a second consecutive pole, although the Belgian will be happy after securing a front row starting berth. Behind them Jack Clarke continued his impressive recent form to take third, with Nicola De Marco lining up alongside him in fourth. De Marco led for much of the early running on used rubber, bettering his own benchmark at the midway stage. Times began to tumble in the final 15 minutes however, as Russian racer Ivan Samarin became the first driver to set a time on fresh tyres. His 1:36.296s lap time was initially good enough for provisional pole but it was clear that times would drop further, as Bailly immediately jumped to the top of the order. Clarke followed Bailly across the line, falling short of the RACB-backed driver by just 0.018s. Nicola De Marco, Kazim Vasiliauskas and Philipp Eng slotted in behind, which at one stage left the top five positions separated by less than one tenth of a second. Championship top two Jolyon Palmer and Dean Stoneman were seemingly stuck down in 12th and tenth with a little over five minutes remaining, after their first few flying lap attempts fell someway short of what was required. Palmer responded in magnificent fashion however, as he punched in three quick laps in succession, launching himself to the summit of the times in the process. The gap back to Bailly was a healthy 0.215s, which was impressive when you consider that the next 12 drivers were covered by a little over six tenths of a second. "I knew once I got a lap in I'd be at the sharp end, but whereabouts I wasn't sure," said Palmer. "Obviously I was happy to come over the line and see 35.7 on the dash. I've just got to push for the win and hopefully score good points for the championship." Bailly and Clarke had to settle for second and third at the finish, ahead of De Marco, Vasiliauskas and Eng. Briton Will Bratt came home seventh while Ivan Samarin's earlier pace-setting lap was only good enough for eighth as the chequered flag waved. Dean Stoneman was left down in a disappointing ninth despite a slight improvement late on and Ricardo Teixeira rounded out the top ten. The Angolan racer ran as high as fourth in the early stages of qualifying, but he had to make do with a row five starting berth after failing to get the very best out of his new tyres in the latter stages. Kelvin Snoeks and Benjamin Lariche followed, whilst Natalia Kowalska was 13th. The Polish female racer continues to develop in F2 and this was one of her best sessions so far as she ended up just eight tenths off the pole position time around the technical 4.69km circuit. Sergey Afanasiev, Mihai Marinescu and Armaan Ebrahim all endured challenging sessions and could only manage 14th, 15th and 16th between them. More news03 Jul 2010F2 Palmer takes commanding win at PortimaoF3 Mortara wins first race of the weekendF1 GPUpdate Half-Term Report: Vitantonio LiuzziF1 Newey receives RB5 at GoodwoodWSR Fifth pole for Ricciardo F2 Palmar denies Bailly's poleF1 Button hoping to win his first home Grand PrixF1 GPUpdate Half-Term Report: Nico Hülkenberg03 Jul 2010F3 Mortara claims pole at the NorisringF2 Bailly continues strong pace at PortimaoF1 GPUpdate Half-Term Report: Jaime AlguersuariF1 Schumacher not able to predict team's pace at SilverstoneF2 Benjamin Bailly sets the early Portimao paceF1 Hamilton looking forward to home crowd supportWSR Grubmuller fastest in first free practiceF3 Mortara leads in first practice at the NorisringWSR Aleshin aims for F1 test with RenaultF1 GPUpdate Half-Term Report: Bruno SennaF1 Webber and Red Bull perform Westminster pit-stopF2 Clarke: I've wiped the slate cleanF1 Brands Hatch Historic Superprix this weekend01 Jul 2010F1 GPUpdate Half-Term Report: Kamui KobayashiF1 Audi repeats: No interest in Formula 1F1 Button to drive Hamilton title-winner at GoodwoodIndy Hunter-Reay stays with Andretti for Watkins GlenMore newsAutodromo Internacional do Algarve 201003 JulPalmer takes commanding win at Portimao03 JulPalmar denies Bailly's pole03 JulBailly continues strong pace at Portimao02 JulBenjamin Bailly sets the early Portimao paceJonathan Palmer30 MarDane Jokinen joins F2 grid30 MarDonington was always doomed to fail, says Palmer24 MarEng re-signs for 2010 season18 MarIndian Sureshwaren signs for first F2 season14 MarPaul Rees joins Formula 2Formula 202 JulClarke: I've wiped the slate clean25 JunRace winner Bailly remaining modest20 JunBailly converts pole position into first race win20 JunBailly claims maiden pole in front of home crowd19 JunStoneman claims commanding Zolder victoryPhotosAutodromo Internacional do Algarve 2010    More Autodromo Internacional do Algarve 2010 photos Jonathan Palmer More Jonathan Palmer photos Formula 2 More Formula 2 photos © 1998-2010 GPUpdate.net | Privacy notice