Kerr puts Brits in top spot

Great Britain underlined their pace and new-found confidence by taking a thrilling pole position in qualifying for Sunday's A1GP sprint race in Shanghai.

Driver Robbie Kerr had gone fastest in practice on Friday and translated that

early speed into the optimum grid slot as Team GBR looks to build on its first

win in the series last time out in Mexico.

Kerr left it to the last to pip New Zealand's Jonny Reid into second with the

weekend's fastest lap of one minute 34.756 seconds.

A delighted Kerr said: "We'd been building up to it throughout qualifying.

"We'd made some changes overnight, but had to back-pedal on them because they

didn't work.

"It was just a case of putting everything together."

Behind Kerr, however, is the battle for the championship, which could be

decided this weekend.

After nine rounds, Germany hold a lead of 27 points over New Zealand and will

clinch the title if that lead is at least 17 points going to the final weekend

of the season at Brands Hatch in two weeks.

With Reid showing he has the pace this weekend, Germany star Nico Hulkenberg

has so far not been in the dominant form that has seen him claim a series-record

eight wins this season.

After missing the previous round of the championship on F3 duty, he could not

better fourth on the grid, behind America's Jonathan Summerton.

But the super-confident teenager insists he will be a threat in the race.

"Anything is possible from the second row on Sunday," he said. "It's

important that I survive the start and the car doesn't get damaged."

For his part, Reid was left to rue Kerr's brilliant final run, which bumped

New Zealand down at the death.

"I'm disappointed, but I can't complain with a front-row start, there has

been a few this season so I'll take another one," he said.

"I don't know where he (Kerr) came from in setting that last lap time.

"I'm happy given it's my first crack at the circuit and I'm on the front row,

but I'm still disappointed we couldn't nail the top spot."

Narain Karthikeyan took an impressive fifth for India, Sebastien Buemi, of

Switzerland, was sixth and Jean-Karl Vernay was seventh for defending A1GP

champions France.

Malaysia's Alex Yoong, Canadian Sean McIntosh and Enrico Toccacelo, of Italy,

rounded out the top 10.

The sprint race at a shortened version of the Formula One circuit will

determine the grid positions for Sunday's feature race.