Marinescu edges Brundle to claim first pole of 2011 at Monza
Mihai Marinescu edged out Alex Brundle to secure his first pole position of the season at Monza
Having finished second fastest in both practice sessions, the Romanian built upon his strong opening to set a 1m40.071s, which was enough to earn him his best qualifying result of the year.
"I'm very happy about it and very pleased that it's happened right here at Monza which is a very special place for me," Marinescu said.
"I grew up here, everything as a race driver started for me here and it's like a home. There were a lot of quick laps where I was fastest but the new tyres made a big difference compared to yesterday's free practice."
Alex Brundle secured his second front-row berth of the year as he finished second, 0.168s down the road.
Spain's Ramon Pineiro, winner of the past three races, qualified third ahead of the championship's lead pair Mirko Bortolotti and Christopher Zanella.
Bortolotti, who leads Zanella by 60 points, will be guaranteed the title this weekend if he finishes ahead of the Swiss racer in both races.
Germany's Tobias Hegewald edged out Denmark's Mikkel Mac and compatriot Thiemo Storz in the fight for sixth, while Jack Clarke and Benjamin Lariche rounded out the top 10.
Pos Driver Time Gap 1. Mihai Marinescu 1m40.071s 2. Alex Brundle 1m40.239s + 0.168s 3. Ramon Pineiro 1m40.295s + 0.224s 4. Mirko Bortolotti 1m40.341s + 0.270s 5. Christopher Zanella 1m40.346s + 0.275s 6. Tobias Hegewald 1m40.642s + 0.571s 7. Mikkel Mac 1m40.695s + 0.624s 8. Thiemo Storz 1m40.765s + 0.694s 9. Jack Clarke 1m40.873s + 0.802s 10. Benjamin Lariche 1m40.961s + 0.890s 11. Kelvin Snoeks 1m40.993s + 0.922s 12. Miki Monras 1m41.070s + 0.999s 13. Luciano Bacheta 1m41.563s + 1.492s 14. Parthiva Sureshwaren 1m41.564s + 1.493s 15. Sunghak Mun 1m41.735s + 1.664s 16. Plamen Kralev 1m41.767s + 1.696s 17. Julian Theobald 1m41.804s + 1.733s 18. Maxim Snegirev 1m41.835s + 1.764s 19. James Cole 1m42.045s + 1.974s
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