QUALIFYING: Pourchaire back on pole ahead of Bearman at Monza

Théo Pourchaire’s first run was good enough to secure pole position around Monza, setting a 1:32.328. The ART Grand Prix driver claimed his first pole since Round 1 in Sakhir ahead of PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman. Roman Stanek secured his best Qualifying result of his rookie campaign. The Trident driver was one of the few drivers to improve on their final laps to take third.

There was no great rush to get out on track as nobody wanted to be the first in the queue but with just under 20 minutes to go, Stanek set the initial benchmark of a 1:32.812.

That effort didn’t stay top for long as Victor Martins picked up from where he left off in Practice, going fastest for ART Grand Prix with a 1:32.423 to head Bearman by 0.064s and teammate Pourchaire, 0.146s down in third.

The Championship leader moved onto provisional pole with his next lap as Martins lost his following effort for exceeding track limits on the exit of Turn 7. Bearman kept himself inside the top three while Isack Hadjar rocketed up in his Hitech Pulse-Eight to go third quickest ahead of Martins. Kush Maini went within 0.214s of the top spot and fifth for Campos Racing with just over 10 minutes left of the session.

A brief spell back in the pitlane ended with just four minutes to go as the field snaked out of the pitlane vying for a tow. So focused were the field on track position that with time ticking down, not everyone could start their final laps. Maini, Richard Verschoor, Jack Doohan, Juan Manuel Correa and Joshua Mason each missed the cut to start their last efforts before the chequered flag.

Up ahead, Campos Racing’s Ralph Boschung improved up to P10 without running in a slipstream. Stanek was also one of the only drivers to improve on their final effort, leaping up to third for his best Qualifying result of the season.

Pourchaire and Bearman fought on track for position, but it was the ART driver on pole ahead of the Briton. Stanek’s late effort relegated Hadjar to fourth with Martins fifth.

Maini was left in sixth ahead of Jak Crawford, Frederik Vesti, Verschoor and Boschung completing the top 10, with Swiss driver earning reverse grid pole for the Sprint Race.

The Monza Sprint Race is set to get underway at 14:15 local time on Saturday.