GP3: Ghiotto beats Ocon to Spa pole

Championship leader Luca Ghiotto stormed to his fourth GP3 pole position of the season at Spa, edging out Mercedes protege Esteban Ocon by 0.171 seconds.

Trident driver Ghiotto, who looked ominous as he set the pace in Friday practice, didn't initially set the fastest time but was consistently in the top 10 during the opening stages of the session. It wasn't until after the mid-session tire change that Ghiotto began to find his pace and he snatched pole away from Emil Bernstorff late in the session with a time of 2m04.943s.

Several drivers tried to top the Italian's time in the dying moments but no one could mount a serious challenge, as he repeated the Spa pole he had sensationally achieved on his GP3 debut 12 months earlier.

ART Grand Prix's Ocon, who before his final run was down in sixth, was the closest challenger and did set the fastest time early in the session but couldn't do enough to overhaul Ghiotto.

Ocon's ART team-mate Marvin Kirchhofer was also consistently running in the top six for the entirety of the session but finished just over two tenths back on the polesitter. Arden International's Bernstorff was fourth ahead of Ferrari junior Antonio Fuoco, who almost replicated Carlin team-mate Jann Mardenborough and Adderly Fong's Friday incidents at Eau Rouge by running wide.

Fortunately the FIA has since removed the orange sausage kerb that sent Mardenborough and Fong airborne, and the Italian was able to hold his slide and carried on unscathed.

Hungary Sunday race winner Kevin Ceccon held on to sixth, while Koiranen GP driver Matt Parry jumped into the top 10 late on despite running down the order for much of the session. Parry's team-mate Jimmy Eriksson was ninth just behind Jenzer Motorsport driver Matheo Tuscher.

Alfonso Celis Jr in the third ART car rounded out the top 10 despite almost making contact with the barrier on his flying lap at the unnamed downhill left-hander at Turn 9.

Nissan protege Mardenborough just missed out on a top 10 finish after running at different times from the rest of the field. The Brit was second before several drivers improved on their final runs, demoting him to 11th ahead of Pal Varhaug who had a big moment at Pouhon as his Jenzer Motorsport car briefly caught fire.

Originally on Autosport.com