The Fortec Motorsports team continued its show of force on the streets of Monaco during Formula Renault 3.5 Series qualifying. After dominating each group, Jazeman Jaafar and Oliver Rowland locked out the front row for tomorrow, ahead of Lotus F1 Junior Team driver, Matthieu Vaxiviere (Lotus). McLaren Young Driver Development Programme driver and top rookie on the day, Nyck de Vries completed row two, followed by his team mate and Red Bull Junior Team protégé, Dean Stoneman (DAMS).
After the collective test session, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series was back on the street circuit for qualifying. The drivers were split into two groups, each having 25-minutes to battle for pole position.
Oliver Rowland by 5/10ths of a second
In the first group, Oliver Rowland set the first timed lap. Despite the attempts of Meindert van Buuren (Lotus), Tio Ellinas (Strakka Racing) and Pietro Fantin (International Draco Racing), the Englishman was back on top before a stoppage caused by the accident of Philopaz Armand (Pons Racing). When the session resumed, Oliver Rowland improved and answered the attacks coming from his rivals. His lap of 1:24.370 put him ahead of Nyck de Vries, Tio Ellinas, Pietro Fantin, and Gustav Malja (Strakka Racing).
Jazeman Jaafar on pole position
Jazeman Jaafar set the pace in Group B. Egor Orudzhev (Arden Motorsport) led briefly, but the Malay native improved on several occasions to consolidate his best time. Shod with new tyres, The Malay put the hammer down. Only Dean Stoneman could go quicker, but for just a few moments. The Fortec Motorsports driver dominated his group with a best time of 1:23.425, followed by Matthieu Vaxiviere, Dean Stoneman, Tom Dillmann (Jagonya Ayam with Carlin) and Egor Orudzhev.
The race will start this Sunday at 11h10. It will be 40-minutes plus one lap, with no mandatory pit stop.
