NextEV’s Nelson Piquet Jr. will start the Hong Kong ePrix 2016/2017 season opener from pole position after an disrupted and chaotic qualifying session.
Super Pole was cancelled due to several delays and red flags for barrier repairs, with the grid being decided from the four qualifying segments.
Piquet put in a 1m03.099 in the third qualifying group to take provisional pole, beating his team-mate Oliver Turvey by just over one tenth of a second.
No one could beat the two NextEV cars, with Jose Maria Lopez and Sam Bird coming closest for DS Virgin Racing to qualify third and fourth.
Reigning champion Sebastien Buemi was fifth fastest, ahead of Formula E rookie Felix Rosenqvist, Daniel Abt and Loic Duval.
Practice two pace-setter Jean-Eric Vergne and Nicolas Prost were ninth and 10th in qualifying, having run in groups three and one respectively.
Nick Heidfeld, Formula E debutant Maro Engel, Antonio Felix da Costa and the Jaguar of Adam Carroll are next up.
His team-mate Mitch Evans was behind Stephane Sarrazin in 16th, with Ma Qing Hua and Jerome d’Ambrosio in 17th and 18th.
FP1 fastest driver Lucas di Grassi crashed out of qualifying in group two, while Robin Frijns also hit the wall heavily and brought out a lengthy red flag for barrier repairs.
