Joe Turney has clinched pole position on his F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost debut as he heads up Zane Maloney for a Carlin 1-2.
The 17-year-old – who only announced he would race in the championship on Thursday – set his fastest time, a 46.346, with approximately 10 minutes of the session remaining. His teammate, Barbadian rookie Maloney, was a mere 0.010s behind as he set a 46.356 in the closing minutes.
A few drops of rain at the start of qualifying meant drivers were overly cautious in the opening minutes as times began to tumble at the halfway mark with the top then separated by less than four tenths of a second at the chequered flag.
Double R Racing’s Sebastian Alvarez claimed third on the grid as his best time, a 46.377, was just 0.031s behind the pole-sitter.
American driver Carter Williams made significant improvements throughout the session to jump up to fourth just ahead of Arden’s Tommy Foster in fifth.
Sixth place went to Double R’s Louis Foster with Bart Horsten following in seventh in the second Arden car.
JHR Developments’ Josh Skelton looked promising in the early stages but the 18-year-old could only manage eighth place with Roberto Faria behind in ninth for Fortec.
Luke Browning suffered an “unspecified technical problem” in the opening phase of the session and missed crucial track time, meaning the Richardson Racing entrant was only capable of tenth place, almost four tenths behind Turney.
Reema Juffali, the first female Saudi Arabian racing driver, was a second adrift for Double R as she lines up 11th with Fortec’s second entrant Mariano Martinez rounding off the grid in twelfth place.
Race one takes place later this afternoon at 15:50.
