Greater Noida, Oct 25 (IANS): Formula Renault 3.5 driver Arthur Pic claimed pole position in MRF Challenge at the Buddh International Circuit (BIC) here Friday.
The only support race for the Formula 1 Indian Grand Prix this weekend saw a three way battle for pole position including Pic, Tio Ellinas and Harry Tincknell. In the end, there was less than two-tenths of a second separating the top three as they constantly traded positions in the qualifying session. Pic managed to take pole posting a time of 1:55.684.
Indian driver Parth Ghorpade was on a quick lap on his last run and was poised for a top-6 finish but got held up in traffic and had to settle for 10th.
"It was a bit difficult on the first run as the track had changed quite a bit from the morning session. My first run in qualifying was not that great but the car kept getting better as the session went on. I was able to push on my final run and get the fastest lap," said Pic.
Earlier in the day, Pic topped the time in the practice session with 1:56.575, ahead of Sean Walkinshaw and Rupert Svendsen-Cook.
The first race of the weekend will take place at 3:30 p.m. Saturday after the Formula 1 qualifying session.