Newgarden on pole in Hockenheim

24 July 2010

Formula Ford graduate Josef Newgarden will line up on pole for the first time in his GP3 career this afternoon, after putting in a stunning performance for Carlin this morning in a wet qualifying session at the Hockenheimring. The 19 year-old, who set the third fastest time in qualifying, will line up on pole after the two drivers ahead of him were handed grid place penalties for yellow flag infringements. Team mate Dean Smith will line up 15th for race one later today, while Lucas Foresti will start 25th.

Torrential rain over night and early this morning created treacherous conditions on track for the GP3 drivers, who were the first to take to the track this morning. Almost all the GP3 drivers spun during the session, with Newgarden running wide onto the run-off and Foresti also taking to the grass at one point. All three Carlin drivers stayed on track for the duration of the session however, and as the session continued it was clear the quickest times would be set in the dying seconds of the session as the track continued to dry.

As the session kicked off this morning, Smith was the quickest Carlin driver on track; setting the sixth fastest time on his first flying lap. The McLaren Autosport BRDC award winner lost precious track time yesterday after a spin early on in practice led to contact with the wall, but had high hopes for qualifying.

At the half way point, Newgarden was consistently among the top ten, while Smith was also on the pace and was fourth with ten minutes remaining. Newgarden quickly fell down the order as other drivers improved but reasserted his pace to retake third in the dying seconds of the session. Smith meanwhile struggled to replicate his pace in the drying conditions due to traffic.

At the chequered flag, Newgarden had qualified 3rd, with Smith 16th and Foresti 27th. However, grid place penalties for 21 drivers following yellow flag infringements in yesterday's practice session saw several changes to the grid. Newgarden will consequently line up on pole, with Smith 15th and Foresti starting 25th.

Speaking about his qualifying performance, Newgarden said, "I'm really, really pleased to be starting from pole today. It's great for me and the team and has given us a real boost. Qualifying third based on our genuine pace is a good result for us and then to be handed pole is of course a big bonus!

"We had a very good practice session yesterday and were P1 in the final stages, but I was very careful to back off due to the yellow flags and ended up 25th on the time sheets. Starting at the front gives us a much greater chance of a good result, but I'm very conscious of the fact that this is just qualifying; it's the race that really counts and there's a lot that could happen yet."

Race one will take place at 17.20 later today