Hamda Al Qubaisi secures double pole position in Zandvoort

Hamda Al Qubaisi took pole in both Qualifying sessions as the Emirati driver looks to close the gap on Marta García at the top of the standings.

Her double-podium, alongside teammate Amna Al Qubaisi’s P8 finish in Qualifying 1, means that MP Motorsport are set to start on pole in all three races at their home track.

Qualifying 1

Léna Bühler was the early pace setter in her ART Grand Prix car as she looked to build on yesterday’s Free Practice success. However, H. Al Qubaisi quickly fought back and took top spot with a 1:37.134, before a Red Flag fell on the session as Chloe Grant found herself in the gravel.

With a number of drivers still to set lap times, and just five minutes of Qualifying 1 remaining, the field would have just two laps to try and seal pole position for Race 1 this evening when green conditions resumed.

As the times started flooding in H. Al Qubaisi maintained her advantage at the top of the timesheets, going purple in the first two sectors on her way to a 1:36.572, closely followed Bühler in P2 and Spaniard Nerea Martí in P3.

A. Al Qubaisi finished in P8 and take Race 2 pole position as she looks to take her third reverse grid victory of the season.

Qualifying 2

As the cars headed out for Q2, Campos Racing’s Maite Caceres set the early benchmark with a 1:38.699 before Megan Gilkes moved into P1 with a 1:38.429.

H. Al Qubaisi was the first to bring the numbers down as she set a 1:36.584, before Bühler moved into P1 and broke the 1:35s barrier with a 1:35.962.

Emely de Heus, driving confidently on home soil after her maiden victory in Barcelona, briefly moved into P2 with a 1:36.420. However, it would be MP Motorsport teammate H. Al Qubaisi who would secure double pole positions for the Dutch outfit, as she set the fastest lap of the day with a 1:35.926, before a red flag stopped the session with two minutes to go.

Bühler will join H. Al Qubaisi on the front row again for Race 3, with de Heus on the second row in P3.

MP Motorsport driver Hamda Al Qubaisi said:

“I am really happy to be on double pole, it’s been a while waiting for it, but I knew I had the pace. It’s always hard in the beginning when you know you have the pace, and you have to get things together. The team did a great job, they gave me an amazing car and I am really happy with how I worked with the engineer and the team in general is a great environment for me."

What’s Next

The teams will take to the track for Race 1 this afternoon at 16:30 with H. Al Qubaisi and Bühler on the front row. Sunday will see the drivers take to the track for two races to wrap up the weekend.