At the end of a sweltering test day at Brands Hatch, it was Linus Lundqvist who remained on top. Like all but five of the BRDC British F3 Championship drivers, he set his best time in the cooler morning session.
The Double R Racing driver, had been quickest on Thursday as well, with many of his rivals knowing they’ll need a dominant weekend to prevent him from moving the championship out of realistic contention. The Swede would not appear at the end of the day, with a personal best of 43.616.
He would finish the second and third sessions, during the middle of the day, inside the top five. Elsewhere, Sun Yue Yang led a Carlin contingent during the rest of the day, with the Chinese driver topping the second and fourth sessions. It would be another Double R driver on top during the hottest part of the day though, as Krishnaraaj Mahadik thrived with the track temperature almost 60°C.
The drivers have spent the last two days testing on the Indy circuit, with all the teams knowing that data from 2017 will be vital as they race on the GP circuit during the weekend.
Behind Lunqvist in the overall times was Nicolai Kjaergaard. The Dane has failed to pick up a podium in the last two rounds and will need a return to form to keep his title hopes alive, especially with Tom Gamble coming away from the last two rounds as the second highest points scorer after Lundqvist.
Sun would be third, just 0.066 behind the leader, while Jamie Caroline, who continues to sub for Clement Novalak. The Formula Renault driver was absent from the Eurocup Spa-Francorchamps round last weekend and has not raced since he crashed at the Red Bull Ring round in mid-July, picking up an injury.
Rounding out the Carlin quartet was Billy Monger, with title contender Gamble 0.166 seconds behind the leader. Mahadik, like his Double R teammates sat out the last session, finishing seventh overall from Manuel Maldonado.
Elsewhere, Matt Tinghe tested a lone Chris Dittmann Racing car, with Ayrton Simmons not confirmed for the upcoming round. Tinghe will not race this weekend.
