Formula 2 championship leader Andy Soucek claimed his maiden series pole position in today's qualifying for Sunday's race at Brands Hatch.
The Spaniard, who won at Brno earlier this year, squeezed out his nearest title rival Robert Wickens by just 0.028s.
"It's the first time i've driven here and it was a fantastic experience," said Soucek. "To have second for first race today and pole tomorrow, I'm really pleased because I didn't know the track."
The pair were the only drivers to break into the 1m16s, while Sebastian Hohenthal was just a fraction further back in third.
The Swede has been demoted five places for today's first race after exceeding the track limits at Paddock Hill Bend and may well receive the same penalty today after being shown another black flag for the same offence.
Race one pole-sitter Philipp Eng set the fourth fastest time, with Red Bull-backed duo Mirko Bortolotti and Mikhail Aleshin - who were both also penalised after yesterday's qualifying - completing the top six.
Carlos Iaconelli finished the session seventh, ahead of Henry Surtees who held the top spot mid-way through the session but was bumped down the order in the last five minutes.
Pos Driver Time Gap
1. Andy Soucek 1m16.947s
2. Robert Wickens 1m16.975s +0.028
3. Sebastian Hohenthal 1m17.108s +0.161
4. Philipp Eng 1m17.207s +0.260
5. Mirko Bortolotti 1m17.299s +0.352
6. Mikhail Aleshin 1m17.398s +0.451
7. Carlos Iaconelli 1m17.423s +0.476
8. Henry Surtees 1m17.463s +0.516
9. Natacha Gachnang 1m17.476s +0.529
10. Tobias Hegewald 1m17.481s +0.534
11. Edoardo Piscopo 1m17.506s +0.559
12. Jason Moore 1m17.512s +0.565
13. Henri Karjalainen 1m17.637s +0.690
14. Milos Pavlovic 1m17.664s +0.717
15. Kazim Vasiliauskas 1m17.692s +0.745
16. Julien Jousse 1m17.709s +0.762
17. Tom Gladdis 1m17.733s +0.786
18. Jack Clarke 1m17.801s +0.854
19. Nicola de Marco 1m17.822s +0.875
20. Jolyon Palmer 1m18.084s +1.137
21. German Sanchez 1m18.172s +1.225
22. Armaan Ebrahim 1m18.247s +1.300
23. Jens Hoing 1m18.628s +1.681
24. Pietro Gandolfi 1m19.754s +2.807
25. Alex Brundle 1m35.908s +18.961