Home Z - Archive seriesGP3 Lynn is GP3 champion as Kirchhofer flies to Abu Dhabi pole

Lynn is GP3 champion as Kirchhofer flies to Abu Dhabi pole

by Peter Allen
Alex Lynn

Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP3 Series Media Service

Alex Lynn has secured the 2014 GP3 Series title after Marvin Kirchhofer claimed a commanding pole position in Abu Dhabi.

Lynn has moved out of reach in the championship after his rival Dean Stoneman failed to take the four bonus points for topping qualifying that he needed if he was to stand a chance of closing the 47-point gap to his fellow Briton.

Kirchhofer led the times in the middle of the session, and later returned to the top spot in the closing minutes by a massive half a second.

Stoneman quickly followed him into P2, having been held up by debutant Kang Ling in the final sector of the lap. After the clearing the Chinese driver when he ran wide onto the pit straight, Stoneman then set a session-best sector one, but lost time in sector two with a small lock-up at the end of the back straight and yellow flags a few corners later.

He slightly improved his overall laptime, but was still 0.471s slower than Kirchhofer, who by claiming the four points has moved ahead of Stoneman in what is now a fight for P2 in the standings.

Lynn ended up fourth quickest. He took his turn at the top of the times in the final three minutes, but was immediately relegated by his Carlin team-mate Emil Bernstorff, who qualified third.

Dino Zamparelli was another to claim top spot in the closing stages but will line up fifth ahead of Jimmy Eriksson and Swiss duo Alex Fontana and Patric Niederhauser. Status Grand Prix team-mates Nick Yelloly and Richie Stanaway completed the top ten on the grid.

Qualifying results
Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Marvin Kirchhofer ART Grand Prix 1:55.163 12
2 Dean Stoneman Koiranen GP 1:55.634 0.471 11
3 Emil Bernstorff Carlin 1:55.664 0.501 13
4 Alex Lynn Carlin 1:55.729 0.566 11
5 Dino Zamparelli ART Grand Prix 1:55.819 0.656 12
6 Jimmy Eriksson Koiranen GP 1:55.863 0.700 12
7 Alex Fontana ART Grand Prix 1:55.900 0.737 13
8 Patric Niederhauser Arden International 1:55.995 0.832 12
9 Nick Yelloly Status Grand Prix 1:56.038 0.875 12
10 Richie Stanaway Status Grand Prix 1:56.113 0.950 13
11 Kevin Ceccon Jenzer Motorsport 1:56.145 0.982 11
12 Patrick Kujala Trident 1:56.199 1.036 11
13 Jan Mardenborough Arden International 1:56.291 1.128 12
14 Santiago Urrutia Koiranen GP 1:56.443 1.280 13
15 Matheo Tuscher Jenzer Motorsport 1:56.498 1.335 11
16 Robert Visoiu Arden International 1:56.501 1.338 11
17 Pal Varhaug Jenzer Motorsport 1:56.530 1.367 11
18 Luis Sa Silva Carlin 1:56.873 1.710 10
19 Riccardo Agostini Hilmer Motorsport 1:56.941 1.778 10
20 Nelson Mason Hilmer Motorsport 1:56.959 1.796 13
21 Alfonso Celis Status Grand Prix 1:57.577 2.414 12
22 Ryan Cullen Trident 1:57.697 2.534 12
23 Kang Ling Trident 1:58.816 3.653 12