Carlin racer Jack Harvey secured a double pole for the opening round of the British Formula 3 series at Oulton Park.
The 18-year-old was the only driver to break the ’1:28’ barrier, when he set a best of 1:27.868 with just over half the session gone.
Carlin dominated much of qualifying; however the group was split in the final few minutes, when Puerto Rico’s Felix Serralles set the Fortec pace.
It was an all-Carlin second row, with Harry Tincknell heading Carlos Sainz Jr. Tincknell was unfortunate to miss out on 2nd spot, when his fastest effort – 1:28.094 – was pipped by one-thousandth of-a-second by Serralles.
Jazeman Jaafar (Carlin) fell to 5th as the session drew to a close. The Malaysian ran slightly quicker than Fortec duo Hannes van Asseldonk (6th) and Alex Lynn (7th), while the final Carlin man, Pietro Fantin, rounds out the top eight.
Pipo Derani came home 9th – the last of the drivers inside one second of pole.
Double R’s Fahmi Ilyas brought out a brief red flag when he went backward into the barriers at Old Hall; however neither Nick McBride (T-Sport, 11th) nor Geoff Uhrhane (Double R, 12th) could overhaul the Malaysian’s time.
T-Sport’s Richard ‘Spike’ Goddard proved quickest of the Rookie class runner. The Australian enjoyed a one second advantage over category rival Duvashen Padayachee (Double R).
Harvey also claimed pole for the opening race of the weekend with his second quickest lap. Indeed it proved to be a Carlin 1-2-3-4, with the ebullient Harvey charging ahead of Tincknell, Jaafar and Sainz Jr.
Lynn will line up 5th, with Fantin alongside. Van Asseldonk led a Fortec trio, just ahead of Serralles and Derani, while Ilyas will start race one in 10th.
Race one grid: Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m27.997s 2. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.192s + 0.195s 3. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.240s + 0.243s 4. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.288s + 0.291s 5. Alex Lynn Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.345s + 0.348s 6. Pietro Fantin Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.398s + 0.401s 7. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.420s + 0.423s 8. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.495s + 0.498s 9. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.724s + 0.727s 10. Fahmi Ilyas Double R Dallara-Merc 1m29.615s + 1.618s 11. Nick McBride T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m29.943s + 1.946s 12. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Mugen 1m30.956s + 2.959s 13. Geoff Uhrhane Double R Dallara-Merc 1m31.430s + 3.433s 14. Duvashen Padayachee Double R Dallara-Mugen 1m32.130s + 4.133s Italics = Rookie Class
Race three grid: Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Jack Harvey Carlin Dallara-VW 1m27.868s 2. Felix Serralles Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.093s + 0.225s 3. Harry Tincknell Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.094s + 0.226s 4. Carlos Sainz Jr Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.106s + 0.238s 5. Jazeman Jaafar Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.108s + 0.240s 6. Hannes van Asseldonk Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.268s + 0.400s 7. Alex Lynn Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.282s + 0.414s 8. Pietro Fantin Carlin Dallara-VW 1m28.380s + 0.512s 9. Pipo Derani Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m28.715s + 0.847s 10. Fahmi Ilyas Double R Dallara-Merc 1m29.316s + 1.448s 11. Nick McBride T-Sport Dallara-Nissan 1m29.719s + 1.851s 12. Geoff Uhrhane Double R Dallara-Merc 1m30.894s + 3.026s 13. Spike Goddard T-Sport Dallara-Mugen* 1m30.934s + 3.066s 14. Duvashen Padayachee Double R Dallara-Mugen* 1m31.938s + 4.070s Italics = National Class
