Orudzhev, who is part of the SMP Racing program, logged the fastest lap of the weekend so far in 1:40.328s at the end of a last-gasp battle with Louis Delétraz (Fortec Motorsports). After leading the way in practice, the young Swissman was once again the fastest rookie on-track, ending up a mere 0.013s short of pole position. As a result he will start Race 1, scheduled for 14:20 PM, from the outside front row position.Orudzhev began leading early, setting an opening mark of 1:40.925. Behind him were Delétraz, Tom Dillmann (AVF) and Matthieu Vaxiviere (SMP Racing), all covered by just 0.001s. With the second set of tires, the top-3 situation remained the same, with Dillman edging Japanese Yu Kanamaru, lining-up for the debuting Teo Martin Motorsport team.
The top-5 was rounded out by Austrian René Binder (Lotus) followed by Beitske Visser (Teo Martin Motorsport) and by the second Fortec Motorsports car driven by Pietro Fittipaldi. Alfonso Celis Jr. (AVF), Aurelien Panis (Arden Motorsport) and Vaxiviere completed the top-10.
Egor Orudzhev (Arden Motorsport) “It was a quite difficult and tight qualifying session, but with the first run i had a good feeling and I knew we could do a good job. With the second set of tires I made a small mistake but it was enough to stay in front and put a good lap together. I’m really happy for what we have shown, and proud of our teamwork. Now I want to fight for the win!”