Status GP_GP3 Series Spa Qualifying Report: WICKENS AND MORAD SECURE TOP FOUR POSITIONS FOR GP3 FEATURE RACE

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, 28th August 2010: Robert Wickens took pole position and his Status GP team-mate Daniel Morad secured fourth place in the qualifying session for this afternoon's GP3 Series feature race at Spa-Francorchamps.

Canadian Wickens' best lap was 0.5sec clear of his nearest challenger in wet conditions at the challenging 4.35-mile  Belgian circuit. He set the lap on wet weather tyres on a drying circuit, before he and his  rivals pitted towards the end of the 30-minute session to change to slicks.

However, a series of incidents as cars span off the circuit in the slippery conditions at the end of the session meant that yellow caution flags were displayed, and Wickens backed off and did not improve his times. Some other GP3 drivers did go faster before the chequered flag, but a stewards inquiry concluded this afternoon that any improved times were deleted, and Wickens' advantage was restored. This means he will start on pole for the first time this season, and gives him maximum opportunity to close the gap on championship rival Esteban Gutierrez.

GMH Motorsport-backed driver Daniel Morad also showed superb form in his first visit to the sweeping Spa track to set the fourth fastest time on his wet weather tyres. The Canadian-Lebanese star also slowed down when he saw the yellow flags at the end of the session, despite being on a faster lap, and therefore avoided action from the stewards.

Marussia  Motors  Development  driver  Ivan  Lukashevich  suffered  some  misfortune  during  the  session. Running as high as 11th place midway through the session, the Russian driver pitted to change to slick tyres with  10  minutes  remaining.  However,  and  problem  re-firing  the  engine  lost  him  valuable  time and the 19-year-old  was  unable  to  get  his  tyres  up  to  full  operating  temperature  before  the  end  of  the  session  and dropped to 18th on the grid in the final reckoning.

Results
Robert Wickens (CAN): Best time: 2m19.94s, POLE; Position: 1st.
Daniel Morad (LIB): Best time: 2m20.87s, +0.92s; Position: 4th.
Ivan Lukashevich (RUS): Best time: 2m26.14s, + 6.21s; Position: 18th.