A six-car crash involving Sarah Moore, Ayla Ågren, Belén García, Abbie Eaton, Beitske Visser and Fabienne Wohlwend at Radillon de l'Eau Rouge marred the qualifying session held the previous day.

Caitlin Wood, who had qualified fourth and started third in her second event of the season, cut across the top of Radillon and allowed Emma Kimiläinen to draw close and eventually pass at Bruxelles.

Wohlwend – who had sat on provisional pole prior to the crash in qualifying – initially struggled in the conditions having outbraked herself in a move on Vittoria Piria for 10th at La Source, but recovered quickly and took the place a lap later.

The weekend was not going to plan for Bruna Tomaselli – the Brazilian was given a two-place grid penalty for missing the paddock entry gate at the end of practice, and was now dropping back behind the hastily-repaired cars of Eaton and Moore at a rapid rate.

Having cleared Powell, Kimiläinen was unleashed – with lap times 3 seconds quicker than Chadwick, she stormed around the outside of the Veloce Racing entry at turn 13 with four minutes remaining to take the lead.