Aaro Vainio claimed his first GP3 Series pole position in an early Friday morning qualifying for the series' inaugural Monaco race.
Like GP2, GP3 split its field into two groups for Monte Carlo qualifying, with the group with the faster pacesetter taking the pole position side of the grid.
Lotus driver Vainio led the way in the second segment and went quickly enough to take pole from group one leader Kevin Ceccon (Ocean), as the Auto GP champion put the tough start to his GP3 career at Barcelona behind him and earned a front row start.
Atech CRS' Tamas Pal Kiss also showed his best GP3 qualifying form so far as he closed right in on Vainio at the end of the second session to secure third on the grid, alongside championship leader Mitch Evans (MW Arden), who was Ceccon's closest rival in the first group.
Evans' teammate David Fumanelli will share row three with Status driver Marlon Stockinger. Lotus duo Daniel Abt and Conor Daly were fourth in their respective sessions, so complete the overall top eight.