Andretti’s Jake Dennis took his first Formula E pole position of the season in another typically dramatic qualifying session for the Jakarta E-Prix.
The Season 9 champion defeated NEOM McLaren’s Taylor Barnard in the final duel to take an extra three championship points and put himself in a strong position for his first victory in nearly 18 months.
Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries was third, with Nick Cassidy, winner last time out in Shanghai, fourth.
Dan Ticktum’s impressive run of form saw him take fifth place for Cupra Kiro, sharing the third row with the second Mahindra of Eodardo Mortara.
Sebastien Buemi will start in seventh place, with Jean-Eric Vergne eighth, and Antonio Felix da Costa ninth.
The second Jaguar of Mitch Evans completes the top 10, with title-leader Oliver Rowland a shocking 17th.
Rowland lost time on his final push lap in Group A, and saw him miss out on a place in the duels, with Vergne, Dennis, Mortara and Cassidy the men to go through.
Barnard was his now customary rapid self, and secured a place in the head-to-heads in Group B, alongside de Vries, who was second after setting an identical lap to the British youngster.
Monaco winner Buemi impressed to take third, with Ticktum nabbing the final slot, edging out Evans, Shanghai winner Max Guenther and reigning World Champion Pascal Wehrlein.
Dennis seeks third straight Jakarta front row
In the Quarter-Finals, Dennis edged out Mortara in the first head-to-head, followed by Cassidy, who knocked out Vergne.
Mahindra’s quietly brilliant season so far continued, the only team to have both cars in the duels, and de Vries ensured it would have one in the semi-finals, beating Buemi.
The final duel was an all-British affair, with Ticktum looking to make another big statement against Barnard. In the closest head-to-head of the morning, Ticktum looked good for a semis place, but Barnard’s impressive run of form of his own saw him make it through by five thousandths.
In Semi-Final number one, Dennis looked destined to make it through and duly did so, knocking out a spirited Cassidy.
His opponent, was, perhaps predictably, Barnard, who took his fifth straight semi victory against de Vries to make it another all-British match-up in the final.
It was always going to be Dennis’ toughest competitor, and Barnard looked set for his third Formula E pole, but a mistake on the lap cost him, and Dennis secured his first pole since Berlin last season.
A damp day in Jakarta promises a fourth straight weekend of rain for a Formula E race weekend, spicing-up the competition even more with the race just a matter of hours away.
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