After a mixed weather opening practice session, the track dried for the afternoon session allowing Carlin driver James Pull to set a strong lap to top the MSA Formula time sheets. The result mirrors that of a fortnight ago when Pull topped Friday testing for round one.
Before the weekend, Pull had high praise for the Donington circuit, saying; “My favourite track is actually Donington so I’m really looking forward to the weekend. Last time I was here we showed a lot of great potential even though I had a sprained ankle at the time! The aim is to focus on getting more points with three strong races which I think is more than possible for us around here.”
After setting a time good enough for the top six in the morning session, Pull was determined to lay down the marker, with the track drying as time went on. His best time, a 1 minute 08.195, was set mid way through the afternoon, meaning he potentially still had more to give with the remainder of the field unable to catch up during the second session.
Others would get close to the Carlin drivers benchmark but even Alex Quinn‘s impressive lap could not get within a tenth of a second. Quinn, who had topped the morning session, will be hoping for a strong weekend as he looks to challenge for podiums in the overall classifications.
“I think we are quick enough to be fastest.” said Quinn. “In the second session I was really improving towards the end and the chequered flag came just too soon. I learnt loads at Brands and now it’s time to put it into action.”
Behind the top two, championship contender Luis Leeds, who was the only driver to consistently split the Carlin’s at Brands, continues to upset the defending champions, with his time only 0.212 seconds behind Pull.
Rounding out the top five were Max Fewtrell and Brazilian Rafael Martins. As for championship leader Petru Florescu, he’s had a quiet start to the weekend, only managing tenth overall. However, with his team mates performing strongly, it’s likely the Romanian has yet to show his full hand.
