Lynn fastest in opening British F3 practice at Monza

Alex Lynn topped practice for the second round of the British Formula 3 Series at a dry, but cool Monza.

Indeed, it was good day for Fortec in general, as the Formula Renault UK champion headed a Fortec 1-2-3 ahead of Pipo Derani and Hannes van Asseldonk.
A late effort by Lynn – clocking in 1:46.607 – knocked Derani off the top spot, thanks – in part – to a mistake by the Brazilian on his fast lap.

It ensured something of a confidence boost for the 18-year-old Lynn following a tough opening weekend at Oulton Park; however he was also keen to establish practice is merely that – practice.

Jazeman Jaafar led the Carlin contingent from 4th place, despite being troubled by a persistent engine misfire.
The Malaysian’s best was nearly half-a-second shy of the top spot; however Jaafar held off the ambitions of Carlos Sainz Jr (5th), Harry Tincknell (6th), Jack Harvey (7th) and Pietro Fantin (9th), with a mere four tenths covering the Carlin quintet.

Nick McBride assumed 9th in his Nissan-powered T-Sport Dallara, just one-tent up on Oulton Park race winner, Felix Serralles (Fortec, 10th).
Double R duo Fahmi Ilyas and Geoff Uhrhane rounded out the International Class standings, although a gap of six-tenths to Serralles may leave them scratching their heads.

It was a case of the same again between the National Class pairing, as T-Sport’s Spike Goddard outpaced Double R rookie Duvashen Padayachee by a clear second.

Sainz claimed the fastest lap in the opening practice, despite a trip through the gravel on cold, gripless tyres, with the Carlin man complaining of a lack of tyre temperature. The Spaniard proved two-tenths quicker than Derani, before lunch drew the session to a close.
The session was brought to an early end when Goddard went backwards into the barriers at Ascari, rendering chassis severely damaged; however the T-Sport mechanics worked wonders to rebuild Goddard’s chassis in time for the afternoon session.

2012 British Formula 3 Round of Monza (Rd 2, Free Practice)
Pos  Driver                Team/Car                 Time       Gap
 1.  Alex Lynn             Fortec Dallara-Merc      1m46.607s
 2.  Pipo Derani           Fortec Dallara-Merc      1m46.721s  + 0.114s
 3.  Hannes van Asseldonk  Fortec Dallara-Merc      1m46.995s  + 0.388s
 4.  Jazeman Jaafar        Carlin Dallara-VW        1m47.067s  + 0.460s
 5.  Carlos Sainz Jr       Carlin Dallara-VW        1m47.166s  + 0.559s
 6.  Harry Tincknell       Carlin Dallara-VW        1m47.178s  + 0.571s
 7.  Jack Harvey           Carlin Dallara-VW        1m47.209s  + 0.602s
 8.  Pietro Fantin         Carlin Dallara-VW        1m47.484s  + 0.877s
 9.  Nick McBride          T-Sport Dallara-Nissan   1m47.554s  + 0.947s
10.  Felix Serralles       Fortec Dallara-Merc      1m47.619s  + 1.012s
11.  Fahmi Ilyas           Double R Dallara-Merc    1m48.286s  + 1.679s
12.  Geoff Uhrhane         Double R Dallara-Merc    1m48.490s  + 1.883s
13.  Spike Goddard         T-Sport Dallara-Mugen    1m50.234s  + 3.627s
14.  Duvashen Padayachee   Double R Dallara-Mugen   1m51.293s  + 4.686s
Italics = National Class
^Notes compiled from live updates and team releases.

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