Vietoris on pole at Nurburgring

Christian Vietoris qualified on pole position for the first race of his local Formula 3 Euro Series round at Nurburgring this afternoon.

The Mucke Motorsport driver became only the second driver to beat ART Grand Prix's Nico Hulkenberg in a qualifying session this year, although Hulkenberg will still line up alongside his countryman on the front row.

Tom Dillman qualified third on his return to the series, driving for Jo Zeller Racing, following his departure from SG Formula after the races at Pau two months ago.

French rookie Jules Bianchi (ART) will start fourth after topping the day's earlier practice session, ahead of title protagonist Mika Maki (Mucke), Briton James Jakes (ART), and Zandvoort race two winner Renger van der Zande (Prema).

Daniel Ricciardo qualified an excellent eighth on his Formula 3 debut with SG, with Robert Wickens (Signature) the top Volkswagen-powered driver in ninth, and Jon Lancaster (ART) completing the top ten. The series' other newcomer, Brendon Hartley, qualified 25th for RC Motorsport.

Edoardo Mortara will have a fight on his hands to maintain his championship lead after qualifying just 21st, with his closest four rivals in the points race all in a position to score well.

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap 1. Christian Vietoris Mucke D/M 1:23.259 2. Nico Hulkenberg ART D/M 1:23.541 +0.282 3. Tom Dillmann Jo Zeller D/M 1:23.593 +0.334 4. Jules Bianchi ART D/M 1:23.706 +0.447 5. Mika Maki Mucke D/M 1:23.784 +0.525 6. James Jakes ART D/M 1:23.835 +0.576 7. Renger van der Zande Prema D/M 1:23.850 +0.591 8. Daniel Ricciardo SG D/M 1:23.878 +0.619 9. Robert Wickens Signature D/V 1:23.948 +0.689 10. Jon Lancaster ART D/M 1:23.951 +0.692 11. Dani Clos Prema D/M 1:24.063 +0.804 12. Richard Philippe Carlin D/M 1:24.074 +0.815 13. Henkie Waldschmidt SG D/M 1:24.076 +0.817 14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Carlin D/M 1:24.101 +0.842 15. Stefano Coletti Prema D/M 1:24.113 +0.854 16. Niall Breen Manor D/M 1:24.140 +0.881 17. Kazuya Oshima Manor D/M 1:24.177 +0.918 18. Erik Janis Mucke D/M 1:24.177 +0.918 19. Yann Clairay SG D/M 1:24.200 +0.941 20. Koudai Tsukakoshi Manor D/M 1:24.215 +0.956 21. Edoardo Mortara Signature D/V 1:24.273 +1.014 22. Sam Bird Manor D/M 1:24.343 +1.084 23. Jean-Karl Vernay Signature D/V 1:24.362 +1.103 24. Daniel Campos-Hull HBR D/M 1:24.395 +1.136 25. Brendon Hartley RC D/V 1:24.399 +1.140 26. Cheng Cong Fu RC D/V 1:24.471 +1.212 27. Franck Mailleux Signature D/V 1:24.552 +1.293 28. Jens Klingmann RC D/V 1:24.655 +1.396 29. Martin Plowman RC D/V 1:24.757 +1.498 30. Basil Shaaban HBR D/M 1:25.217 +1.958

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