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Sam Bird takes Monaco Formula Renault 3.5 pole before crashing

Sam Bird stormed to pole position in Formula Renault 3.5 qualifying in Monaco, and then crashed seconds later

The ISR driver, running in the first group of the split qualifying session, which was expected to be slower due to track conditions, was a constant figure in the battle at the top of the times.

As the group A session reached its closing stages, veterans Bird and Jules Bianchi (Tech 1) made the fight for the quickest time an exclusive one between themselves. Bianchi was the first to set a time a long way clear of the rest of the field, but Bird then responded with two minutes remaining.

The Briton was on course to go faster again a lap later before having to back off for yellow flags at Rascasse, but he had time for one more lap and went one second faster than his former GP2 rival. Unaware of the size of his advantage, he continued to push and slid wide at Sainte Devote just seconds later, hitting the barrier with his left rear wheel.

Championship leader Robin Frijns (Fortec) got close to Bianchi to go third quickest in the group, with Tech 1's Kevin Korjus and Lotus's Marco Sorenson next up.

Bird then had to watch on as group B took to the track. The fight for top spot was a thriller, with Alexander Rossi and Kevin Magnussen leading the way throughout.

Quick times from Nico Muller (Draco) and Nick Yelloly (Comtec) got them in the hunt in the final seconds, but Muller's time at the top was brief as Magnussen went quickest, shortly before Rossi stole the place back at the death.

The Arden Caterham driver's time was 0.7 seconds adrift of Bird's best, meaning that the Briton took pole position, with the rest of group A lining up on the odd-numbered side of the grid.

Rossi will join him on the front row as group B takes the even-numbered positions, and behind them row two will be made up of Bianchi and Monaco rookie Magnussen (Carlin).

Frijns and Muller will share row three to make it three rookies in the top six, while Korjus and season-opener winner Yelloly are next up.

Pos  Driver              Team        Time       Gap
 1.  Sam Bird            ISR         1m22.163s  Group 1
 2.  Alexander Rossi     Arden       1m22.863s  Group 2
 3.  Jules Bianchi       Tech 1      1m23.163s  Group 1
 4.  Kevin Magnussen     Carlin      1m22.875s  Group 2
 5.  Robin Frijns        Fortec      1m23.209s  Group 1
 6.  Nico Muller         Draco       1m23.032s  Group 2
 7.  Kevin Korjus        Tech 1      1m23.507s  Group 1
 8.  Nick Yelloly        Comtec      1m23.790s  Group 2
 9.  Marco Sorensen      Lotus       1m23.552s  Group 1
10.  Walter Grubmuller   P1          1m23.846s  Group 2
11.  Mikhail Aleshin     RFR         1m23.759s  Group 1
12.  Carlos Huertas      Fortec      1m23.865s  Group 2
13.  Jake Rosenzweig     ISR         1m24.083s  Group 1
14.  Will Stevens        Carlin      1m23.938s  Group 2
15.  Richie Stanaway     Lotus       1m24.546s  Group 1
16.  Lucas Foresti       DAMS        1m24.000s  Group 2
17.  Arthur Pic          DAMS        1m24.559s  Group 1
18.  Anton Nebylitskiy   RFR         1m24.089s  Group 2
19.  Vittorio Ghirelli   Comtec      1m26.112s  Group 1
20.  Andre Negrao        Draco       1m24.149s  Group 2
21.  Giovanni Venturini  BVM Target  1m26.921s  Group 1
22.  Zoel Amberg         Pons        1m24.228s  Group 2
23.  Yann Cunha          Pons        1m27.169s  Group 1
24.  Lewis Williamson    Arden       1m24.878s  Group 2
25.  Nikolay Martsenko   BVM Target  1m29.946s  Group 1
26.  Daniil Move         P1          1m25.990s  Group 2

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