Nathaniel Powers has taken pole position for the British V-Prix, his second of the season, ahead of Klaas van Snelheid, as Downton continue their strong run of Saturday form in 2019. DS Mathershaw and Franklin rounded out the top six, ahead of Felix Pérez in seventh, but midfield honours went to Colombian hotshot James Vasquez for Ingram, just a tenth shy of the Mexican for the team's best qualifying result since the chaotic season opener in Australia. Q1 In front of his home crowd, Will Hoskins in the Andromeda seemed intent on giving the Meteor pair a run for their money, trading the top spot with both Simon and Lopez all session long. In the end, it was the Meteors who once again emerged ahead, with Simon just over a tenth clear of Lopez, the Argentine another tenth ahead of Hoskins. In contrast to his more experienced teammate, Rodolfo de la Fuente seemed dissatisfied with the balance of his car, finishing over three tenths down on Hoskins, but this was still enough for him to finish the session in fourth. The biggest story of Q1, however, was Cheema. After qualifying for their first ever Formula Virtual race last time out in Malaysia, both Nikolai Milkovich and Carson Davenport edged out the Lucas duo, ensuring the Irish outfit will see both cars take to the grid this Sunday. Things were less promising for AMR, both Kovalenko and Schnyder languishing at the bottom of the timesheets. The two came close to Marcus Thunder in the Lucas, but neither seemed to have the pace to challenge, both AMRs failing to qualify for the second race in succession. Full Q1 classification can be seen below. Q2 With skies around the track beginning to darken, drivers were eager to make haste, with a queue of some nine or ten cars forming at the end of the pit lane before the lights went green. Among them was the FIRST of Oleksandr Zozulya, who misjudged grip levels on the exit of Club, spearing heavily into the pit wall and bringing out the red flags. The Ukranian was thankfully unharmed, but the damage to his car would keep him in the garage for the rest of qualifying, meaning he will start tomorrow's race from last on the grid. As the session resumed, the Franklins, Downtons and DS Mathershaws were all having a tough time finding space amongst the slower midfield teams, but it was Ruiz who was first to find the top of the timesheets, followed closely by the Mathershaw pair of Kangur and Simon, the two near inseparable all session. Hunter Ryan in the Ocelot, on one of his hot laps, had a near-miss with the Phoenix of Thierry Xylander, as the two series rookies almost collided through the high-speed Copse. Ryan was forced to back off and abort his run, expressing his frustration over team radio. With time ticking down, Downton opened the taps, and both drivers began lighting up the timing screens. Van Snelheid initially set the pace, before being bested by Powers who put in a blistering middle sector to pull almost two tenths clear at the head of the field. Ruiz managed to improve his time to qualify third, while the DS Mathershaws struggled on their final runs, along with the second Franklin of Tumo Kinnumen. They therefore filled out the top six, with Felix Pérez in the sole remaining FIRST in the session finishing seventh, some three tenths further back. The battle to round out the top ten was frighteningly close, as North Star, Holmqvist, and Ingram were all within hundredths of one another. With just a few minutes to go, Vasquez emerged from the pit lane with fresh tyres and minimal fuel, delivering a lap that was right on the ragged edge, enough to pull a tenth and a half clear of Halvosen in the North Star, and start tomorrow's race in eighth. Jean Mattson, Gabriele García, and Jules Simon remarkably qualified alongside one another, after receiving ten-place grid penalties following Malaysia. Will Hoskins was once again best of the new teams in sixteenth for Andromeda, with Carson Davenport the slowest driver to set a time. Full Q2 classifications can be seen below, along with tyre selections for the grid on race day.
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