Alex Lynn broke new ground for Fortec Motorsport in 2012, becoming the first man from outside the Carlin stable to lead a test day as British Formula Three testing continued at Silverstone.
The Essex-based driver was dominant in his Mercedes powered car, setting the best time in all three test sessions during the day, though his fastest time overall came in the opening session – as it did more a majority of his rivals.
“I am really happy with the way things have gone,” said Lynn. “The car was superb all day. The whole team has worked really hard since the last test, at Rockingham, and it shows. We have kept our heads down, continued with our programme, and now we are seeing how fast we can go. It was a shame that the ambient temperature rose during the afternoon, and the wind got up, so we couldn't improve our pace, but I am happy to have been quickest in all three sessions.”
Lynn's time of 1:53.530 was more than a tenth faster than that of Carlos Sainz Jr., who continued his pre-season form after setting the pace the pace the previous day. The Red Bull junior signed off on the Silverstone declaring it “not a bad couple of days”.
Dutchman Hannes van Asseldonk ran third fastest, confirming Fortec's pace at Silverstone, while the remainder of the five strong Carlin team lined up behind him, led by Devonian Harry Tincknell.
After only two drivers tested on day one the National Class doubled in size with the addition of Hywel Lloyd and Dan Cammish for CF Racing and T-Sport respectively. Despite the added competition Spike Goddard looked set to once again lead the class on the timesheets after recording the best time in both of the first two of the days sessions.
However, it was F3 veteran Lloyd who stole the best time of the quartet in the final session of the day, nearly a half second faster than Goddard's best time, set during the second of the day's session.
The final test before the start of the season takes place at Oulton Park in March 28. The series returns of the Cheshire track for the opening races of the season on April 6-7.