GP2 newcomer Jolyon Palmer has qualified in an excellent 8th position for tomorrow's first race at Imola from a field of 25 drivers.

Jolyon, who finished fourth in this morning's opening practice session, set his best time with just under ten minutes of qualifying remaining, ending as top rookie and beating of host of drivers with significantly more experience in the category.

"I'm very happy to be 8th," said Jolyon. "After free practice I was confident I was in a good position. On the first set of tyres I only managed one lap before the red flag came out, but on the second set I was able to get my head down and get a lap together. My time could actually have been another couple of tenths quicker but I had to dive the inside of slower traffic into Rivazza. My goal for tomorrow is to get my first GP2 points."

French former F1 driver Romain Grosjean grabbed pole position in the dying seconds from Sam Bird, with Coloni's Michael Herck in third and points leader Jules Bianchi fourth for ART.

Imola GP2 Asia - Qualifying

The first race will take place at 13:00 on Saturday.