Qualifying for AFR Rounds 9 took place today at 11:30am at the Shanghai International F1 Circuit with a 19 degree temperature and sunny skies. PS Racing’s Leopold Ringbom as well as Champ Motorsport’s Yuki Shiraishi and Kazuhiro Saeki waited until twenty minutes remained in the 30 minute qualifying session, in order to qualify on a lighter fuel load and save tires for this afternoon’s race.

PS Racing’s Leopold Ringbom took pole at 1:47.837 with Champ Motorsport’s Yuki Shiraishi just 0.053 seconds behind at 1:47.890. In 3rd was Champ’s Kazuhiro Saeki at 1:49.301, matching PS Racing’s Alexandra Asmoebrata precisely at 1:49.301. Thus, Kazuhiro took 3rd spot on the starting grid with a 2nd best qualifying lap of 1:49.723 to Alexandra’s 2nd best lap of 1:49.858.

With the top 4 drivers so close in qualifying and PS Racing’s Leopold Ringbom leading the 2011 AFR Series just 9 points ahead of Champ Motorsport’s Yuki Shiraishi going into Round 9, today’s race promises to be full of excitement.