with a bang

Series leader annexes prime spot at Magny-Cours in unique circunstances

Bruno Senna secured the maiden pole position of his GP2 Series career yesterday at Magny-Cours, France.

The Brazilian recorded a 1m 25.250s lap with five minutes of the session remaining - even though he lost control as he exited the final corner: his iSport Dallara spun into the tyre wall, bounced back into the track and prompted a red flag. He actually crossed the finishing line sideways, but it was still his best time of the day - 0.037s quicker than Frenchman Romain Grosjean.

Bruno Senna

"I'm obviously delighted to take pole, but that wasn't quite how I'd planned to do it. The car was really well balanced today - perfect, in fact - but every time I tried to put a lap together I was delayed by traffic. When it came to my final run I just gave it everything I had and, unfortunately, the car got away from me at the final chicane. I lost a bit of time as I approached the line because I was fighting to regain control and had my foot on the brakes, but overall it was clearly a decent lap. It was my final chance to set a really good time and the incident was just one of those things.

"The impact didn't feel too heavy and I hope, for the team's sake, that I haven't done too much damage. The car felt absolutely fantastic and I'm in a perfect position to capitalise on that."