Fortec Motorsport’s Alex Gill has claimed pole position for the second Protyre Formula Renault race at Croft Circuit after mastering the tricky conditions.
If this morning’s qualifying had been drizzly then this session was very much soaking and with the Clio Cup that preceded the session not really clearing a dry enough racing line, the grid had to pick its way round the circuit without getting caught out.
Gill, who has an outside chance of the championship, clocked a time of 1:28.506 to put himself in front of championship leader Pietro Fittipaldi who had lucky miss after only just avoiding the tyre barriers following a spin at the Chicane.
Fittipaldi – for his credit – carried on pushing and set a time three tenths slower, 1:28.881, to at least keep himself on the front and a chance to carry on his marvellous spell of eight race wins on the bounce.
In third place was the championship’s man from across the pond as Travis Jordan Fischer set a time of 1:28.915 to put himself in a very strong position for at least a podium tomorrow.
He was the last man in the 1:28s as Piers Hickin in the Scorpio Racing Renault couldn’t dip out of the 1:29s and had to settle for a 1:29.252 splitting the Cliff Dempsey Racing pair with Canadian Patrick Dussault finishing sixth.
Chasing them was an MGR 6-7-8 with Colin Noble ahead of Tarun Reddy who himself was ahead of pole position man from qualifying session one – Matteo Ferrer.
Indeed Ferrer could only complete one lap before his car ground to a halt and he had to finish his session early.
Looking to make something happen from the back of the grid is SWB Motorsport’s Jack Butel who – somewhat surprisingly as he races in the UK – has had limited wet weather running in the car so did a commendable job for so quickly adapting to the conditions.