2017 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship – Sowery Fastest on Day 2 of Testing

Sowery Quickest in Friday Practice

It was a Carlin one-two-three during Friday’s first 30 minute practice session at Oulton Park, although a long red flag period during the middle of the session ensured the drivers were only able to complete a handful of laps. Overnight rain had made the picturesque Cheshire track greasy as the 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 field arrived for the first of four sessions across the day. Without having experienced the conditions on circuit, the grid was evenly split between those choosing to use wets and those running on the Pirelli slick tyre. As they headed out, it soon become clear that the slick tyre was the best option and those who had selected wets headed back into the pit lane to perform a swift tyre change.

A 1m33.894s from reigning US Formula 4 Champion Cameron Das put him on top early on, with team-mates Pull and Ahmed half-a-second in arrears in second and third. The trio subsequently lowered their times, but this time around it was James Pull who moved to the top of the timing screens with a 1m32.968s, ahead of Ahmed and Das.

As times continued to be improved, the session was brought to a halt after the Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing car of Nick Worm came to grief. Whilst the car was being recovered, the rain returned and many drivers chose to return to the paddock instead of changing onto wets. A hardy few drivers did take to the circuit once the session resumed with a few minutes remaining on the clock, but no times were improved upon.

That left the Carlin trio of Pull, Ahmed and Das leading the way from the Douglas Motorsport duo of Petru Florescu and Callan O’Keeffe. Toby Sowery was sixth followed by the Double R Racing trio of Harry Hayek, Guilherme Samaia and Jamie Chadwick. The top-10 was completed by Sowery’s Lanan Racing team-mate, Aaron di Comberti.

The changeable conditions continued into second Friday practice at Oulton Park, but it was a familiar face at the top of the timing screens once again as Pull ensured he topped both morning sessions by posting the quickest time in second practice. Once again, there were different decisions regarding tyre choice as some drivers chose to run on wets whilst others selected the dry Pirelli tyre. As the drivers began to circulate, Pull led the way from team-mate Ahmed and Lanan Racing’s Toby Sowery.

Sowery soon moved into second, splitting the Carlin duo but Ahmed struck back, and with 10 minutes remaining in the session, dropped into the 1m39s to lead the way by over half-a-second. Sowery wasn’t done there though and, as the track continued to dry and times improved, he bettered the Autumn Trophy champion’s time by 0.7s to claim top spot.

All the drivers headed onto their final laps as the chequered flag was unfurled, and nearly every driver posted their fastest laps of the session as they crossed the line. South African Callan O’Keeffe went third quickest for Douglas Motorsport, whilst Sowery remained in second. It was Pull however who found the most time, and a 1m39.082s ensured he claimed top spot by 0.154s from the rest of the field.

Fourth went to Ahmed ahead of the impressive Lanan Racing machine of Aaron di Comberti. Fortec Motorsports’ finished in sixth and seventh with Manuel Maldonado and Nicolai Kjaergaard respectively, whilst American Chase Owen was eighth quickest. The top-10 was completed by Chris Dittmann Racing duo Jeremy Wahome and Omar Ismail.

It was another interrupted practice at Oulton Park as two red flag periods limited running in the third session, with Toby Sowery emerging as the quickest driver with the field limited to only seven laps of running. The greasy conditions from the morning were replaced with a drier and brighter outlook as the penultimate half-hour long session got underway after lunch. With each driver warming up their tyres and brakes, Fortec Motorsports’ Manuel Maldonado initially led the way from Douglas Motorsport’s Petru Florescu and the Chris Dittmann Racing car of Omar Ismail.

Running would soon be brought to a halt for the first time during the session as Lanan Racing’s Aaron di Comberti suffered an off, bringing out the red flags. After recovering the stricken machine, 15 minutes remained on the clock and the drivers set about making up for the lost time. Carlin’s Cameron Das soon bettered Maldonado’s time, with team-mate James Pull moving into second and Ben Hingeley taking third. Toby Sowery meanwhile was on a hot lap and he bettered Das’ time by just 0.017s as the pace quickened. However, Kenyan racer Jeremy Wahome suffered a small off but, with his car stranded, the red flags flew once again. With only a few minutes remaining on the clock, the chequered flag soon followed leading Sowery to top the timing screens from Das and Hingeley.

James Pull was fourth fastest with Enaam Ahmed fifth and Chase Owen sixth. Callan O’Keeffe was seventh quickest for Douglas Motorsport whilst Nicolai Kjaergaard ended eighth fastest. The top-10 was rounded out by Australian Harry Hayek and the aforementioned Jeremy Wahome. A final flying lap in wet conditions as the chequered flag was waved ensured Enaam Ahmed topped the timing screens for the fourth and final Friday practice at Oulton Park, but most of the running was lost during an extended red flag period after an off for Aaron di Comberti.

A mid-afternoon downpour left the undulating Oulton Park circuit slick for the last half-hour of running before the 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 season kicks off tomorrow in Cheshire. Wet Pirelli tyres were necessary for every driver as they headed out in the tricky conditions. Harry Hayek moved into top spot after a few minutes but it wasn’t long before the red flags came out after Aaron di Comberti came to grief at Druids. Barrier repairs were necessary and that ate into the time remaining in the session.

Once the green flag was waved to resume the action, only three minutes remained on the clock. Nevertheless, the drivers took advantage to reorder the standings and it was Carlin’s Enaam Ahmed who emerged as the quickest driver, recording a 1m41.986s, 0.116s quicker than team-mate James Pull.

The third Carlin driver, reigning US Formula 4 champion Cameron Das, completed the top-three with Hayek fourth and Toby Sowery fifth. Douglas Motorsport’s Callan O’Keeffe was sixth ahead of Ben Hingeley and Petru Florescu. The top-10 was completed by Fortec Motorsports’ Nicolai Kjaergaard and Manuel Maldonado.

BRDC British Formula 3 qualifying gets underway at 11:05 tomorrow (Saturday) with race one following at 15:45. You can keep up to date with all the action through live timing and updates on the official BRDC British F3 website.

Test Session 1 – Classification

1^st – No. 15, James Pull, GBR, Carlin, 1:32.9687

2^nd – No. 65, Enaam Ahmed, GBR, Carlin, 1:33.306

3^rd – No. 28, Cameron Das, USA, Carlin, 1:33.553

4^th – No. 10, Petru Florescu, ROM, Douglas Motorsport, 1:33.928

5^th – No. 27, Callan O’Keefe, RSA, Douglas Motorsport, 1:33.951

6^th – No. 51, Toby Sowery, GBR, Lanan Racing, 1:34.420

7^th – No. 26, Harry Hayek, AUS, Double R Racing, 1:34.744

8^th – No. 7, Guilherme Samaia, BRA, Double R Racing, 1:35.964

9^th – No. 55, Jamie Chadwick, GBR, Double R Racing, 1:37.047

10^th – No. 13, Aaron di Comberti, GBR, Lanan Racing, 1:37.934

11^th – No. 77, Ben Hingeley, GBR, Fortec Motorsports, 1:38.010

12^th – No. 21, Chase Owen, USA, Hillspeed, 1:39.330

13^th – No. 25, Nick Worm, GER, Hillspeed, 1:41.036

14^th – No. 33, Manuel Maldonado, VEN, Fortec Motorsports, 1:41.961

15^th – No. 8, Jeremy Wahome, KEN, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:42.807

16^th – No, 63, Nicolai Kjaergaard, DEN, Fortec Motorsport, 1:43.192

17^th – No. 4, Omar Ismail, GBR, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:47.395

18^th – No. 86, Jordan Cane, GBR, Hillspeed, 1:47.395

19^th – No. 6, Tristan Charpentier, FRA, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:48.650

Test Session 2 – Classification

1^st – No. 15, James Pull, GBR, Carlin, 1:39.082

2^nd – No. 51, Toby Sowery, GBR, Lanan Racing, 1:39.236

3^rd – No. 27, Callan O’Keefe, RSA, Douglas Motorsport, 1:39.722

4^th – No. 65, Enaam Ahmed, GBR, Carlin, 1:39.953

5^th – No. 13, Aaron di Comberti, GBR, Lanan Racing, 1:40.491

6^th – No. 33, Manuel Maldonado, VEN, Fortec Motorsports, 1:40.518

7^th – No, 63, Nicolai Kjaergaard, DEN, Fortec Motorsport, 1:40.862

8^th – No. 21, Chase Owen, USA, Hillspeed, 1:40.871

9^th – No. 8, Jeremy Wahome, KEN, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:40.957

10^th – No. 4, Omar Ismail, GBR, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:41.610

11^th – No. 28, Cameron Das, USA, Carlin, 1:41.619

12^th – No. 7, Guilherme Samaia, BRA, Double R Racing, 1:41.880

13^th – No. 6, Tristan Charpentier, FRA, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:42.176

14^th – No. 55, Jamie Chadwick, GBR, Double R Racing, 1:42.372

15^th – No. 10, Petru Florescu, ROM, Douglas Motorsport, 1:42.818

16^th – No. 26, Harry Hayek, AUS, Double R Racing, 1:42.893

17^th – No. 86, Jordan Cane, GBR, Hillspeed, 1:42.909

18^th – No. 77, Ben Hingeley, GBR, Fortec Motorsports, 1:44.233

19^th – No. 25, Nick Worm, GER, Hillspeed, 1:45.106

Test Session 3 – Classification

1^st – No. 51, Toby Sowery, GBR, Lanan Racing, 1:31.500

2^nd – No. 28, Cameron Das, USA, Carlin, 1:31.517

3^rd – No. 77, Ben Hingeley, GBR, Fortec Motorsports, 1:31.649

4^th – No. 15, James Pull, GBR, Carlin, 1:31.851

5^th – No. 65, Enaam Ahmed, GBR, Carlin, 1:31.851

6^th – No. 21, Chase Owen, USA, Hillspeed, 1:31.897

7^th – No. 27, Callan O’Keefe, RSA, Douglas Motorsport, 1:32.221

8^th – No, 63, Nicolai Kjaergaard, DEN, Fortec Motorsport, 1:32.233

9^th – No. 26, Harry Hayek, AUS, Double R Racing, 1:32.339

10^th – No. 8, Jeremy Wahome, KEN, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:32.763

11^th – No. 10, Petru Florescu, ROM, Douglas Motorsport, 1:32.822

12^th – No. 33, Manuel Maldonado, VEN, Fortec Motorsports, 1:32.865

13^th – No. 4, Omar Ismail, GBR, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:32.968

14^th – No. 55, Jamie Chadwick, GBR, Double R Racing, 1:33.376

15^th – No. 6, Tristan Charpentier, FRA, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:33.386

16^th – No. 86, Jordan Cane, GBR, Hillspeed, 1:33.426

17^th – No. 25, Nick Worm, GER, Hillspeed, 1:34.351

18^th – No. 13, Aaron di Comberti, GBR, Lanan Racing, 1:36.618

19^th – No. 7, Guilherme Samaia, BRA, Double R Racing, 1:38.999

Test Session 4 – Classification

1^st – No. 65, Enaam Ahmed, GBR, Carlin, 1:41.986

2^nd – No. 15, James Pull, GBR, Carlin, 1:42.102

3^rd – No. 28, Cameron Das, USA, Carlin, 1:42.399

4^th – No. 26, Harry Hayek, AUS, Double R Racing, 1:42.899

5^th – No. 51, Toby Sowery, GBR, Lanan Racing, 1:43.243

6^th – No. 27, Callan O’Keefe, RSA, Douglas Motorsport, 1:43.369

7^th – No. 77, Ben Hingeley, GBR, Fortec Motorsports, 1:43.701

8^th – No. 10, Petru Florescu, ROM, Douglas Motorsport, 1:44.061

9^th – No, 63, Nicolai Kjaergaard, DEN, Fortec Motorsport, 1:44.444

10^th – No. 33, Manuel Maldonado, VEN, Fortec Motorsports, 1:44.665

11^th – No. 55, Jamie Chadwick, GBR, Double R Racing, 1:44.840

12^th – No. 8, Jeremy Wahome, KEN, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:44.950

13^th – No. 6, Tristan Charpentier, FRA, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:44.950

14^th – No. 7, Guilherme Samaia, BRA, Double R Racing, 1:45.173

15^th – No. 4, Omar Ismail, GBR, Chris Dittmann Racing, 1:45.195

16^th – No. 21, Chase Owen, USA, Hillspeed, 1:46.245

17^th – No. 25, Nick Worm, GER, Hillspeed, 1:49.805

Test Sessions Combined – Classification