The HHC Motorsport drivers impressed in practice, with Harri Newey topping the timings after a sunny day at Snetterton for the BRDC Formula 4 Championship.
The first practice session of the day ended with Will Palmer as the fastest man on track. The championship leader achieved a time of 1:50.511 to put himself in the best possible position for the day.
Also performing well in the opening practice session was Chris Mealin. The Lanan Racing driver was quickly promoted up the board before Palmer took the initiative in the latter stages. The top four stayed roughly the same despite the improvements at the end after the red flag.
It would turn out to be a good day for HHC Motorsport. After Palmer had dominated the opening session, it was Harri Newey’s turn to take the lead in the second session. Having only been three tenths slower than Palmer in the opening 30 minutes, he proceeded to set a 1:50.477 to further lower the benchmark.
He wasn’t the only driver to impress though with Omar Ismail finishing runner up and challenged Newey for most of the session. Having finished third in the first, third and fourth practice sessions, he’s set himself up to be a qualifying contender for Saturday.
Going into the third session, Newey once again topped the timesheets with a 1:50.213 in the Norfolk sunshine. With Palmer and Ismail behind, it ensured the top three was the same for the all three sessions so far.
Another driver who impressed in the third session was Jordan Albert. He may not have topped the standings throughout the session, but did come within 0.05 seconds as the time ticked down, eventually ending up fourth.
Palmer was the first driver under 1 minute 50 seconds in the fourth and final practice session as the HHC Motorsport driver extended his lead over Albert, with Fernando Urrutia impressing early on. As the session progressed a red flag was brought out by newcomer Marc Gonzalez after he stopped on track, by this point Newey was on top.
With 10 minutes left of the session, all 20 drivers looked to improve on their times. Tom Jackson and Sisa Ngebulana improved to go fourth and sixth respectively late on, split by Albert. But as the session came to a close, it was once again Newey ahead of Palmer and Ismail.
