Josh Hill (Photo Credit: Chris Gurton Photography)
Josh Hill, Jordan King and Oliver Rowland will give the front of the grid of the second day of the Protyre Formula Renault UK Finals at Snetterton.
The trio – Hill and Rowland driving for Richard Dutton's Fortec Motorsport squad, King for Manor Competition – recorded the fastest times in qualifying to set up an exact repeat of their starting positions for the first of yesterday's races.
With the track dryer for the twenty minute session than at any point during Saturday times were much faster. Austrian Thomas Jager – the first man to set a flying lap in the session was already four seconds better around Snetterton's 300 circuit than Hill was to take pole position yesterday.
Though the wind still hampered the slick and wing equipped Formula Renaults times tumbled as the track conditions improved with every lap run on it after yesterday's washing.
However, the top of the timesheets was relatively free of the expected names for much of its duration.
Several times during the first half of the session was held by either Stefan Wackerbauer, Geoff Uhrhane of initial pace setter Jager, all of who endured difficult days on Saturday – Jager and Uhrhane failing to finish the second race.
The second half of the session saw the Formula Renault UK regulars back at the head of the times, hauling the time down to the eventual 1:46.440 Hill clinched the pole with.
Saturday double winner went four tenths faster than Koiranen Motorsport driver Wackerbauer, before Jake Dennis – in the second Racing Steps Foundation liveried car to Rowland took pole from his teammate by a similar margin. Continuing the rapid exchange of times in the final minutes Rowland retook provisional top spot – this time by the slender margin of four-thousandths of a second with a 1:46.766 lap.
Hill then took fastest time for the first time in the session with his ninth of eleven laps completed in the session, moving the benchmark time three tenths faster than the Racing Steps Foundation backed, Fortec run duo.
Hill's time survived a final assault in the last few minutes, King slotting the no.42 into the Fortec dominated lead group.
A double podium winner from yesterday, Felix Serralles – another of the nine Fortec runners in the 29 car field – struggled for pace, only setting the 14th best time. It was a similar story for Daniil Kvyat.
The Russian scored a second and a fourth yesterday, but spent much of the session languishing in the lower reaches of the top 20. Only a late improvement lifted him to tenth fastest – the bottom end of a top ten that also included Josh Webster, Dan Wells, Wackerbauer and Nick McBride.
The grid for the second race – set the second fastest times gives Hill another double pole-position with Rowland in second and Dan Wells in third.
Wells was hopeful of a front row start when he spoke to The Checkered Flag after yesterday's second race, but the Atech Reid GP driver was unable to match the pace of the Fortec and Manor drivers in the late going. Jake Dennis will start the second race fifth ahead of Josh Webster and Jordan King.
Archie Hamilton easily controlled the BARC class qualifying, taking both pole positions by a second over James Fletcher – who scored pole for both Saturday races.
