Laurens van Hoepen clinched his maiden Pole during F2 Qualifying at the 20266 Canadian GP. Rafael Camara will join him on the front row, with Alex Dunne completing the top three.
Off-Balance
Due to a number of red flag incidents during F1 FP1 prior to this session, Qualifying was delayed by almost half an hour.
In Practice, Alex Dunne headed a Rodin Motorsport 1-2, with Championship leader Nikola Tsolov in third.
Green Light
At 14:28 local time, Qualifying got underway in Montreal.
The field began their warm-up laps, weaving to gain as much heat in their tyres as possible, before beginning their push laps.
On the Board
Ritoma Miyata was the first driver to set a flying lap, a 1:24.159 for Hitech GP.
However, he quickly tumbled down the order, with Gabriele Mini charging to the top with a 1:22.615 for MP Motorsport.
Rafael Camara slotted into second with a 1:22.620 for Invicta Racing, with Kush Maini moving into third with a 1;22.832 for ART.
Championship leader Tsolov was the next driver to take provisional Pole with a 1:22.273 for Campos Racing.
Yet, Nico Varrone was quick to take over, replacing the Bulgarian at the top with a 1:22.078.
Tumbling Times
With 20 minutes remaining, the times began to tumble.
Camara went purple in the first sector, occupying the top spot with a 1:22.025.
Meanwhile, Van Hoepen slotted into third with a 1:22.141 for Trident, just ahead of Dino Beganovic.
Red Flag Frenzy
With 12 minutes remaining, the drivers began heading back out on track for their final push laps on the session.
However, the red flag was waved after Oliver Goethe hit the wall at Turn 4, bringing his session to a close. He qualified in P19.
With just over eight minutes remaining, the green light was shown once again.
However, the red flag was waved once again with just over five minutes remaining, with Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak finding the wall at Turn 3. He qualified in P15.
Camara also touched the wall at Turn 4, with the Invicta team inspecting the right rear suspension of his car.
Green Light
The green flag shone once again with under five minutes remaining.
Tsolov took provisional Pole once again with a 1:21.789, just 0.092s ahead of his teammate Noel Leon.
However, Martinius Stenshorne quickly replaced him at the top, with Villagomez slotting into fourth.
Stenshorne’s teammate Dunne took provisional Pole with a 1:21.709, whilst Tsolov set a purple Sector 1 on track. He was able to improve to second.
Reigning F3 Champion Camara swiftly replaced him with a 1:21.689.
Remarkably, van Hoepen went fastest with a 1:21.422 for Trident, taking his maiden Pole position for Sunday’s Feature Race.
The F2 Sprint Race will take place tomorrow at 14:10 local time.
Featured Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited