The exciting A1GP qualifying format produced another close and intriguing grid for Sunday’s Sprint race in the fifth round of the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport at Kyalami on Saturday afternoon. An accident involving Brazil’s Felipe Guimaraes), who crashed into a tyre wall with minutes of the final segment of the Feature race qualifying remaining, bringing out the red flag and the premature end of the session, resulted in an unexpected grid for the main race.

Monaco’s Clivio Piccione scored his nation’s first ever pole position in its first season of A1GP with a fastest lap time of 1m 27,269s for Sunday’s 70-minute Feature race. Malaysia (Fairuz Fauzy) will line up alongside Monaco on the front row of the grid after returned a time just 0,136s slower. Row two will be occupied by New Zealand (Earl Bamber) in third place and Australia (John Martin) in fourth.

Switzerland (Neel Jani) and championship leaders Ireland (Adam Carroll) are on row three, with Portugal (Filipe Albuquerque) and Brazil (Felipe Guimaraes) on row four. Netherlands (Jeroen Bleekemolen) and Great Britain (Danny Watts) make up the top 10.

South Africa’s Adrian Zaugg was one of 15 drivers caught out by the final part of the Feature race qualifying session being stopped before time. Zaugg had not completed his second and final lap by the time the red flag was shown and will now start from a disadvantageous 16th place on the 20-car grid.

“It’s disappointing, but this is the risk you take going out as late as possible in the session to take maximum advantage of the conditions,” said the 22-year-old. “I was comfortable with the car’s set-up in the Sprint race qualifying sessions and I think we could have made the top six for the second race start.”

In the earlier Sprint race qualifying, South Africa managed a creditable seventh place, less than a second behind pole position winner Netherlands. Dutch driver Bleekemolen’s best lap time was 1m 27,717s, 0,355 better than second-placed Portugal. Switzerland and Monaco fill row two, with India (Narain Karthikeyan) and Ireland on row three.

This is the first time the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport has visited Kyalami, the home of South African motor sport and an iconic name around the world, in its four seasons to date. The drivers of the 20 nations represented in the GO-GP.ORG A1GP Gauteng, South Africa have been unanimous in their rating of the 4,26-km 11-turn circuit in Midrand as one of the best in the A1GP series.

The organisers, Gauteng Motorsport Company, are expecting a virtual sell-out crowd on Sunday and the weather reports indicate a hot and sunny Highveld summer’s day.

The Sprint race, which features a mandatory pit stop, starts at 11.00 and the Feature race, with two pit stops, starts at 15.00.

Both races will be broadcast in their entirety on SABC3 from 1300 to 1730 (the recorded sprint race will be screened from 1300 while the feature race will be live from 14h00)

Sunday’s race programme also includes a demonstration of the fabulous limited edition (only 30 were made) Ferrari FXX, an evolution of the Enzo and powered by a 6,3-litre V12 mid-mounted engine and develops 800,9 bhp. There will be a Supercar parade and supporting races for Shelby Can-Am sports cars and Formula Ford.