Carlin driver James Pull will start the opening race of the BRDC British F3 Championship from pole position, after his final lap beat rival Enaam Ahmed. It is Pull’s first pole of the year as he looks to hit back in the points standings during the Snetterton weekend.
As the rain covered track greeted the F3 field, it was Pull who set the opening benchmark, quickly beaten by teammate Ahmed. None of the drivers were prepared to hold back though, with Nick Worm bringing out an early red flag after an off in sector one. It was disappointing for the German who had been as high as tenth when he went off.
Lanan Racing used the break to make changes to the front suspension, with the Fortec Motorsport drivers having their rear suspension changed to adapt to the drying conditions.
Pull and Ahmed were immediately back on the pace, with Toby Sowery also joining the battle for pole. As the time ticked down, so did the fastest times, approaching the two-minute barrier. Ahmed looked the closest with second place Pull temporarily opening up a two second gap to third placed Sowery.
Both Ben Hingeley and Callan O’Keeffe would join the battle towards the head of the grid as the drivers culminated their momentum for a final lap push.
Ahmed would briefly take pole, going on to set the fastest opening sector. Pull responded with a purple middle sector ensuring it would be a drag to the line from the Carlin drivers. As they crossed the line it was Pull who took the fastest time with the flag already dropped.
Behind them, a final lap push from Sowery allowed him to take third from O’Keeffe in the Douglas Motorsport car. Nicolai Kjaergaard had gone third during his final lap, but improvements from half the field dropped him to sixth, behind Jamie Chadwick.
Rounding out the top eight would be Hingeley, failing to improve on his final lap, while Cameron Das forfeited his run of pole positions. On his debut, Jordan Cane was ninth, while Manuel Maldonado was tenth.
