Alex Dunne produced a sensational performance at Spa-Francorchamps to secure pole position in Formula 2 qualifying, topping the timesheets with a dominant final run that left the field trailing.
The Irishman stormed to pole in Belgium with a blistering 1:57.151s fastest lap time, putting his Rodin Motorsport car at the front for the Feature Race.
Ritomo Miyata and Roman Stanek completed the top three, while Dunne’s closest title rivals were left outside the top 10.
Dunne had already signalled his intent earlier in the day by going fastest in Free Practice with a 1:59.519s.
Gabriele Mini and Victor Martins rounded out the top three ahead of qualifying.
Championship leader Richard Verschoor enters the weekend with a six-point advantage over Jak Crawford as Round 9 of the 2025 campaign gets underway.
Dunne dominates in sunny Spa qualifying
A rare sight at Spa saw all 22 drivers take to the track under clear skies and dry conditions.
With the circuit being the longest on the calendar — and drivers completing customary warm-up laps — the first representative time of the session didn’t appear until eight minutes into the session as Luke Browning went fastest.
The Hitech driver laid down the early benchmark in qualifying with a 1:58.537s.
But the times soon began to tumble — Stanek edged ahead by just 0.007s before his Invicta Racing team-mate Leonardo Fornaroli snatched provisional pole moments later.
Dunne then displaced the Italian by a mere 0.003s, with Mini and Martins slotting into the second row after the first round of flying laps.
Verschoor could only manage eighth on his initial run, while title rival Crawford sat 13th and needed a stronger lap to break into the top 10.
Most drivers failed to find significant gains on their second push laps — though Amaury Cordeel bucked the trend by climbing to seventh.
Dunne, however, delivered a standout lap, improving by a remarkable 0.421s over Fornaroli to post a 1:57.863s.
Meanwhile, Verschoor dropped to 10th and found himself in the reverse grid pole position for the Sprint.
With no improvements showing in the sector times, drivers returned to the pits for fresh tyres and a brief reset.
Dunne clinches pole as grid reshuffles in dramatic qualifying finish
As the clock ticked under 10 minutes, everyone filtered back out for their final push laps in qualifying.
Crawford, in desperate need of a stronger lap, was first to make a move — setting personal bests in all sectors to jump up to third, just three tenths off Dunne’s benchmark.
Oliver Goethe had briefly slotted into second ahead of the DAMS Lucas Oil driver, but the order quickly shuffled again as lap times tumbled.
Verschoor couldn’t better the efforts of his MP Motorsport team-mate Goethe before Miyata unexpectedly leapt onto the second row, displacing both.
Dunne, however, was in a league of his own. The Rodin driver went fastest in all three sectors to obliterate the field with a stunning 1:57.151s — a full 0.419s clear of Miyata.
Stanek climbed to third, Martins held on to fourth after an improvement, and Arvid Lindblad finally joined the fight by grabbing fifth ahead of Campos Racing team-mate Pepe Marti.
Fornaroli and Mini slipped to the fourth row, with Goethe rounding out the top 10 at the expense of his team-mate.
Several drivers — including Martins — missed the cutoff to start a final lap, and no late improvements were made as Dunne sealed an emphatic pole position.
Miyata secured a front-row start with a stunning late qualifying lap, while Stanek rounded out the top three.
Martins put in a solid performance to claim fourth, and Lindblad salvaged his session with a late effort to take fifth.
Just outside the top five, Marti finished sixth, followed by Fornaroli in seventh, Mini eighth, Cordeel ninth, and Goethe completing the top 10 — earning himself reverse-grid pole for the Sprint Race.
Dunne’s championship rivals, Verschoor and Crawford, missed out on the top 10, qualifying 11th and 14th, respectively.
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