Formula Renault 3.5
HOME POLE FOR CARLOS SAINZ JR AT MOTORLAND ARAGÓN
Joint points leader Carlos Sainz Jr (DAMS) scored his third straight pole of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series season at Motorland Aragon on Saturday, the Red Bull Junior Team member securing top spot on the grid from Oliver Rowland (Fortec Motorsports) and Nikolay Martsenko (Comtec Racing).
The session began with Jazeman Jaafar (ISR) setting the pace and then Marco Sorensen (Tech 1 Racing), Oliver Webb (Pons Racing), Zoel Amberg (AVF) and Nikolay Martsenko all going quicker. By the midway point, however, Carlos Sainz Jr and Oliver Rowland were trading fastest times.
After bolting on new tyres, Jazeman Jaafar once again went clear of the field, only for Carlos Sainz Jr to outpace everyone at the session’s end with a time of 1:40.418. Joining him on the front rows will be Oliver Rowland, Nikolay Martsenko, Roberto Merhi (Zeta Corse) and Zoel Amberg.
Saturday’s FR 3.5 Series race starts at 14:30.
Carlos Sainz Jr: “There’s honestly no secret to it. I just had to be confident on each lap and make the most of the conditions to find those vital thousandths. You don’t get any points for being on pole, though, and it’s up to us to back it all up in the race.”