24 Gates and a bridge to fly under, this is a beast of a track...
This is the fourth of eight races so it's the critical point of the season...
Brageot gets the buzzer for incorrect level at Gate 6 and he posts 1:03.888... it's 2s faster than in FP3 but could mean a challenging head to head for the French pilot unless he can improve on his second run
He's under the Chain Bridge this time at 197kts and he's tightened things up at Gates 6 and 7, lining him up much better for the Vertical Turn...
He's picked up the pace and this is better... as he makes his way through the track and it's great work! 1:02.588 clean!
Chile's Cristian Bolton will fly next...
He was down in 12th place in FP3 and needs to up his game in Qualifying if he wants a chance to pick up points tomorrow in Budapest
Wow! That first split time is green! But he's slowed it down after the VTM and he's in the red... can't keep up with Brageot... and that's a 2s penalty for incorrect level at Gate 8, leaving him with 1:05.235
Bolton's back for his return visit to the track...
But it's all over too quickly for exceeding G and he gets a DNF :(
0.78s over 10G... the rules stipulate pilots must not exceed 10G beyond 0.6s so that's a very tough call for the Chilean pilot
Now it's the Australian Matt Hall looking to change his fortune in 2017
He was very convincing in FP3 with a 1:01.654 so we're hoping he can pull out the stops in Qualifying to improve again
And that is a great line, but he's a little cautious out there and probably wants to bank a decent Q1
It's a 1:01.431 for Hall!
197.3kts through the Start Gate and he's back in the track – he can afford to push it now to try to get an advantage in tomorrow's R14
He's off the pace though! Seems he's adjusted his race line and it's not working out for him...
Hall adds 1:02.208 on the timesheet for Q2 and the team will be able to analyse the different lines ahead of race day – which is the real value of a good Qualifying session
Nicolas Ivanoff takes to the sky now...
He was mid-field in FP3 in 7th place so this one could go either way – as is often the case with the flamboyant Frenchman
He's got the first part of the track sorted and it's green on the split times... but he's losing speed and it's now in the red til the end...
That's 1:02.515 for Q1 for Ivanoff
Ivanoff makes his way back for his Q2 run and the flying is smooth but that line is way off... he's got to do his homework later
It's 1:02.835 clean for Ivanoff in Q2 and gets praise from Bonhomme in the commentary box for some very controlled flying today
Kirby Chambliss to fly next...
24 Gates and a bridge to fly under, this is a beast of a track...
