Hulkenberg claims pole at Zandvoort

Nico Hulkenberg will start from pole position in Saturday's ninth round of the Formula 3 Euro Series at Zandvoort in Holland.

The German ART Grand Prix driver pipped Mika Maki's Mucke Motorsport Mercedes-powered car by 0.08secs on Friday afternoon. Third quickest was French rookie Jules Bianchi, who was over a tenth away from Hulkenberg's 1:32.087s.

Sam Bird was fourth fastest for Manor Motorsport, ahead of free practice pacesetter Jean-Karl Vernay, who was the top Volkswagen-powered driver in fifth for the Signature-Plus squad.

Koudai Tsukakoshi was sixth quickest for Manor, ahead of Yann Clairay (SG) and Dani Clos (Prema).

Championship leader Edoardo Mortara (Signature) could only manage the 15th fastest time, 0.775s off the pace, and will be anxiously looking to defend his title lead this weekend. Hulkenberg has already trimmed it to 14 points, thanks to his pole position.

Christian Vietoris, who is third in the standings for Mucke, didn't fare much better and will start tenth. The top 18 cars were covered by a second, and the weather forecast of rain tomorrow should spice things up even more.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:32.087 2. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:32.167 +0.080 3. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:32.225 +0.138 4. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:32.372 +0.285 5. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:32.512 +0.425 6. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:32.539 +0.452 7. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:32.686 +0.599 8. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:32.698 +0.611 9. Robert Wickens Signature D/V 1:32.763 +0.676 10. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:32.764 +0.677 11. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:32.802 +0.715 12. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:32.803 +0.716 13. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:32.851 +0.764 14. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:32.854 +0.767 15. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:32.862 +0.775 16. James Jakes ART D/M 1:32.894 +0.807 17. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:32.983 +0.896 18. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:33.081 +0.994 19. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:33.150 +1.063 20. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:33.165 +1.078 21. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:33.171 +1.084 22. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:33.242 +1.155 23. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:33.315 +1.228 24. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 1:34.154 +2.067 25. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V 1:34.694 +2.607 26. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:35.025 +2.938 27. Martin Plowman RC D/V 1:35.679 +3.592

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