Quinn Quickest for TRS Arden from Team-Mate Piastri

Alex Quinn and TRS Arden got their weekend off to a perfect start at Oulton Park in the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost, setting the pace in both test sessions. Quinn was quickest by 0.109s in the morning from Carlin’s Jamie Caroline. The two drivers were the only men to lap in the 1m 23s bracket. Times tumbled in the afternoon session however, with eight drivers breaking the 1m 24s barrier and Quinn facing stern competition to remain the day’s pacesetter. Championship leader Caroline and Quinn’s team-mate Oscar Piastri proving the main threats. Quinn saved his best until late and with just minutes of the session remaining pumped in a time of 1m 23.332s, and then immediately bettered it with a 1m 23.068s lap around the 2.2-mile Cheshire track to put him clear.

“It’s been a very good day for TRS Arden,” said Quinn. “Both Oscar and I were really quick. We need to do it again tomorrow and that’s the key. I enjoyed driving around this track last year and I’m enjoying it this year. Our car is so good through the corners and as drivers we’re performing well to extract the performance from the car. Oscar gave me some tips after FP1 and we’ve been working really well together, as we have done all season. There are a variety of corners, slow and fast, which makes it a fun challenge. The team has done an amazing job with the setup and I have felt comfortable in the car right from the start.”

Piastri made it a TRS Arden one-two at the top of times, recording the quickest second sector time of anybody on his final lap which was 0.134s slower than Quinn. It demoted Caroline to third who was a further 0.141s back.

“After the first session I felt there was a lot more to come from me and in the second session we underlined the pace we have,” commented Piastri. When we tested here back in February we found a nice setup and we’ve just been fine-tuning that today. It’s nice to be one-two at the top before qualifying. Sector two is the most technical so it’s no surprise to see us quickest there given how well the car is handling, but there are another two sectors in a lap and it’s about being quickest in all three of them.”

Logan Sargeant was consistently fast for Carlin, fourth in both sessions with a flurry of personal best laps as the afternoon session came to a close. Behind him on the timesheets could be found the Double R Racing pair of Linus Lundqvist and Karl Massaad. Ayrton Simmons (TRS Arden) had to settle for seventh having not found an ideal balance. The Epping racer ended the day ahead of Patrik Pasma (Carlin), as well as Ford F4 Challenge Cup runners Oliver York (Fortec Motorsports) and Harry Webb (Richardson Racing) who completed the top 10. Webb came out of the blocks brilliantly, having posted the sixth fastest time in the morning. Daniel Cao (Double R Racing) just missed out on the top 10, doing well to bounce back in the afternoon after missing out on any morning running due to an early off. Behind him on the timesheets finished Lucas Alecco Roy (Carlin) and Jacky Liu (GW Motorsport), with Jamie Sharp (Sharp Motorsport) in 14th. The latter experiencing a day of limited seat time, like York, due to having to sit a GCSE exam. Both drivers impressively juggling academic and motor racing commitments.

Saturday’s schedule is full of Ford EcoBoost-powered action as the F4 British Championship takes centre stage, with official qualifying at 0905 and two races, rounds 10 and 11 of the championship, at 1415 and 1745 respectively. The final race of the Oulton weekend follows on Sunday afternoon at 1405 and will be broadcast live on ITV4.

 

Free Practice Session 1 – Oulton Park

1^st – No. 7, Alex Quinn, GBR, Arden, 1:23.684

2^nd – No. 38, Jamie Caroline, GBR, Carlin, 1:23.793

3^rd – No. 76, Linus Lundqvist, SWE, Double R, 1:24.081

4^th – No. 31, Logan Sargeant, USA, Carlin, 1:24.281

5^th – No. 81, Oscar Piastri, AUS, Arden, 1:24.465

6^th – No. 2, Harry Webb*, GBR, Richardson, 1:24.572

7^th – No. 21, Patrik Pasma, FIN, Carlin, 1:24.594

8^th – No. 14, Karl Massaad, LBN, Double R, 1:24.717

9^th – No. 12, Ayrton Simmons, GBR, Arden, 1:24.842

10^th – No. 5, Oliver York*, GBR, Fortec, 1:25.560

11^th – No. 6, Lucas Alecco Roy, GER, Carlin, 1:27.145

12^th – No. 89, Jamie Sharp, GBR, Sharp, 1:27.688

 

No Time Set

No. 91, Jacky Liu, CHN, GW Motorsport

 

Free Practice Session 2

1^st – No. 7, Alex Quinn, GBR, Arden, 1:23.068

2^nd – No. 81, Oscar Piastri, AUS, Arden, 1:23.202

3^rd – No. 38, Jamie Caroline, GBR, Carlin, 1:23.343

4^th – No. 31, Logan Sargeant, USA, Carlin, 1:23.518

5^th – No. 76, Linus Lundqvist, SWE, Double R, 1:23.718

6^th – No. 14, Karl Massaad, LBN, Double R, 1:23.756

7^th – No. 12, Ayrton Simmons, GBR, Arden, 1:23.775

8^th – No. 21, Patrik Pasma, FIN, Carlin, 1:23.965

9^th – No. 5, Oliver York*, GBR, Fortec, 1:24.246

10^th – No. 2, Harry Webb*, GBR, Richardson, 1:24.488

11^th – No. 92, Daniel Cao, CHN, Double R, 1:25.252

12^th – No. 6, Lucas Alecco Roy, GER, Carlin, 1:26.051

13^th – No. 91, Jacky Liu, CHN, GW Motorsport, 1:26.453

14^th – No. 89, Jamie Sharp, GBR, Sharp, 1:26.871