Formula E: Nicolas Prost takes pole for inaugural race

Nicolas Prost made an indelible mark in racing history by scoring the first pole position for the FIA Formula E Series, when he topped qualifying in Beijing.

The son of four-time Formula 1 World Champion, Alain Prost, was pushed hard by Lucas di Grassi, who'd taken top time in first practice. But the Frenchman, driving for the e.dams-Renault team formed by his father and DAMS Racing, was just over a tenth clear of Lucas di Grassi as the checkered flag fell. Nonetheless, it was an encouraging session for di Grassi who saw his Audi Sport ABT teammate go third quickest, a further 0.15 behind.

In fact, that was the notable aspect of the qualifying session: the sizable gaps between the cars closed up considerably, so that the top dozen were covered by less than three-quarters of a second. There could have been even more drivers falling within those time parameters, but Bruno Senna (Mahindra), Jarno Trulli (Trulli GP) and Stephane Sarrazin (Venturi) all failed to set a qualifying lap.

That left Karun Chandhok and Nick Heidfeld to uphold Mahindra and Venturi honors respectively by getting into the top six. These two were split by Franck Montagny in the lead Andretti Autosport entry, while ex-Toro Rosso racer Jaime Alguersuari clocked seventh fastest for Virgin Racing.

Oriol Servia showed his best turn of speed since testing began, with 11th fastest for Dragon Racing, just 0.647sec off the ultimate pace.

The race begins at 4 a.m. ET, on FOXSports1, commentary by Dario Franchitti.