Adrien Simon has taken the first pole position of 2019 for Mathershaw, just edging out Franklin's Enrique Ruiz in a very wet session in which they were the class of the field. The session started wet and only got wetter and slower throughout, leading to a scrambled grid behind the front row. Q1As the lights went green for Q1 the rain started to fall, but was intermittent throughout the session and did allow various tentative runs on the slick tyres. Nonetheless it was very much a case of being on track at the right time, as would become the story of qualifying. At the end of the opening segment, it was Rodolfo de la Fuente who topped the times with a 1:33.762, only just over two seconds slower than he managed in practice. Marcus Thunder followed him behind for Lucas just under two tenths back, with Dmytro Kovalenko and Mario Juan Lopez in close company. Jules Simon ensured both Meteor's did make Q2 as expected - though it was closer than they'd have liked - with star of pre-season Will Hoskins becoming the last man to make the grid despite a late moment where he brushed the wall at turn 10, just edging out Carson Davenport by 0.011 of a second. This meant both Cheema's and both Excelsior's failed to qualify, while Arden Hutchinson also missed the cut with only the eighth fastest time, some 1.3 seconds behind his team mate. The biggest surprise was at the back however in Finn Schnyder. The AMR driver misjudged the track conditions and timed his runs completely wrong, ending the session in the wall at the final corner as he desperately tried to make the grid. See below for full Q1 classification: Q2The marshals were able to use the gap between Q1 and Q2 to clear Schnyder's car, but in that time the rain began to intensify. Unsurprisingly, all 25 drivers who could head out - Kovalenko's AMR had comically developed a water leak - did so, causing chaos on track. Simon and Ruiz were the first drivers to complete their laps - the 2016 Champion setting a 1:43.211 to edge his rival out by 0.021 - but also the only two before the session saw it's first red flag, thanks to Hoskins being beached in the gravel at turn three. As the Andromeda was recovered to the pits - unable to take any further part in qualifying - the cars returned to the track. Sector times made it immediately obvious no-one would come close to the top two, but James Vasquez put in the best effort only seven tenths back. The drivers were setting times in the order they crossed the line - Elroy Wagner fourth, followed by Klaas van Snelheid, Rodolfo de la Fuente, Oleksandr Zozulya and Gabriele Garcia, until a stellar effort from rookie Thierry Xylander saw him rocket to fourth place. Sergio Álvarez initially completed the top ten but was jumped by the car behind him - countryman Mario Juan Lopez - while Nathaniel Powers could only managed twelfth and slowest of the drivers so far after further complaining of a lack of grip in his Downton, before the second red flag thanks to Ruiz's beached Franklin at turn 13. In what was rapidly becoming a multi-part qualifying session, Jean Mattson led the next group of drivers to complete their laps and ended up thirteenth overall - some 1.2 seconds behind twelfth placed Powers. He was followed by some big names who had missed setting laps during the better track conditions early on, as Johan Halvosen led Allar Kangur and practice pace-setter Felix Pérez, the duo utterly despondent after expecting to find themselves in the top eight at least. Sebastian Bergkvist nearly made the Mexican's day even worse but found himself 0.005 slower, but then did as he aquaplaned into turn one and collected the FIRST, causing a third red flag and putting both drivers out of qualifying. Once the session went green for the final time is was obvious no laps would be better than those that had already taken place, so the only drivers on track were those still without times, which included Franklin's Tumo Kinnumen. The Finn could only managed second quickest of those on track - putting him nineteenth on the grid - behind Hunter Ryan, the home hero nailing his lap to go three tenths clear. Behind Kinnumen was Marcus Thunder in the sole remaining Lucas, ahead of a disappointed Jules Simon. Viktor Östberg lines up twenty-second ahead of Puccio Giodano, with Felix Beyer the last of those to set a time, albeit with a lap that saw him run wide onto the grass at turn 15. As Hoskins at least completed an out-lap he heads the back row from Kovalenko, but both drivers were disappointed not to show more having fought their way out of Q1. See below for full Q2 classification, and grid with tyre choices for the race:
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