Jonny Reid is the first Auto GP poleman

Jonny Reid is the first poleman of the Auto GP history. The SuperNova driver managed to put two tenths between his best time and his opponents' in a very difficult qualifying session. That was because the track conditions were very different compared to the previous days, with less wind a much warmer temperatures, things which made the track slower and slippery.

In this conditions, the first set of new tires was wasted, because the drivers needed to understand the new track limit. Only from the second set on, and after some changes in the set-ups, the Auto GP drivers had the chance to push harder. With such a complex situation, things were easier for the most experienced drivers. It wasn't by chance that the fastest drivers were Reid, who raced with the same car and SuperNova in A1 GP, and Fabio Onidi, who contested the last Euroseries 3000 season on the Lola B05/52. The italian driver, who was among the fastest in Free Practice, did the right set-up choices with Team Lazarus and will start Race 1 from the 1st row, the ideal spot to try one of his renowned great starts. In his mirrors, Onidi will have to keep an eye on Edoardo Piscopo. The DAMS driver confirmed the same good shape of the testing and free practice days. Adrian Zaugg, behind him, was less than a tenth slower, disappointed for missing the first row but still confident for tomorrow's race.

Behind him, Luca Filippi and Vladimir Arabadzhiev clinched the 3rd row despite being at their very first experience with the car, and managed in keeping at bay Duncan Tappy and Julian Leal. Just 0.008 behind Leal was Giorgio Pantano, struggling with understeer and complaining about two fast laps ruined by other drivers slowing down on track. He is hoping for a strong comeback in the race, as well as Jan Charouz, closing the top ten, Iaconelli, Tambay and GrubmÃ¼ller. Closing the pack were the RP Motorsport guys, Miguez and Bizzarri, and Tomas Kostka, replacing the injured Natacha Gachnang.

Jonny Reid: "The car was not as good as yesterday, the set-up was just not good for today's conditions because of the hot temperatures. Despite this I clinched pole position and being the first Auto GP poleman made me very happy. I believe that tomorrow the key will be guessing the right set-up choices for the track, because the weather could be even warmer than today".

Fabio Onidi: "I'm really satisfied with my qualifying, starting the first race from the front row is the best way to begin a season. It wasn't easy because the temperatures were hard on the tires and made the track slippery, but the team was great in making immediately the right changes in the set-up. For tomorrow, I know that Reid will be hard to beat, but I will try the best possible start and I'm ready to fight".

Edoardo Piscopo: "Looking at my performances in the other days, I really wanted pole position but today's track conditions were really different, and the tires were really fast only on the first lap. Anyway, 3rd is good, I'm confident for the race because we have a good pace and the team is doing a great job".

Brno, Qualifying Times

1.Jonny Reid SuperNova 1'43"829
2.Fabio Onidi Lazarus 1'44"025 +0.196
3.Edoardo Piscopo DAMS 1'44"219 +0.390
4.Adrian Zaugg Trident 1'44"314 +0.485
5.Luca Filippi Euronova 1'44"322 +0.493
6.Vladimir Arabadzhiev DAMS 1'44"346 +0.517 7.Duncan Tappy DAMS 1'44"513 +0.684
8.Julian Leal Trident 1'44"515 +0.686
9.Giorgio Pantano SuperNova 1'44"523 +0.694
10.Jan Charouz Charouz-Gravity Racing 1'44"609 +0.780
11.Carlos Iaconelli Durango 1'44"897 +1.068
12.Adrien Tambay Charouz-Gravity Racing 1'44"914 +1.085
13.Walter GrubmÃ¼ller Charouz-Gravity Racing 1'45"290 +1.461
14.Celso Miguez RP 1'45"730 +1.901
15.Stefano Bizzarri RP 1'45"745 +1.916
16.Tomas Kostka Charouz-Gravity Racing 1'48"332 +4.503