Carlin’s quartet dominate day one of testing at Rockingham.Max Fewtrell and Alex Quinn maintain strong testing form from Donington Park.
The penultimate day of collective pre-season testing at Rockingham circuit was dominated by Carlin’s super-talented array of drivers, with the experienced James Pull taking top spot on the timesheet.
Pull, who raced for both JTR and Fortec Motorsports in the series last season, has taken little time to settle into his new surroundings at Carlin. He put in an assured performance at Rockingham, where he already has a wealth of experience behind the wheel of Ford EcoBoost-powered machinery.
The 16 year-old was quickest of Carlin’s driver quartet in the morning session, but it was in the afternoon where he really came into his own, posting a time of 1:18.249 that would not be beaten.
The fastest man from last week’s test at Donington Park was once again a key player in proceedings. Max Fewtrell ended the day in second, less than half a tenth off of the time set by his teammate.
Fortec Motorsports’ Alex Quinn and TRS Arden’s Rafael Martins were the only drivers to break the Carlin stranglehold at the top; the former finishing third and the latter fifth.
When the chequered flag finally fell Martins found himself sandwiched between Carlin’s Devlin DeFrancesco, as well as the recently re-signed Petru Florescu.
Florescu provided additional excitement in the morning when carrying a little too much speed that sent him through the gravel and into a barrier at Pif-Paf, ultimately damaging the front of his car.
The day’s biggest improver was Richardson Racing’s Ben Sturge, improving upon his morning time by over a second in the afternoon. This proved to be enough to see him break into the top ten by close of play.
Testing resumes at Rockingham tomorrow with the 2016 Ford MSA Formula season launch also taking place. Today’s drivers will be joined by the likes of TRS Arden’s Luis Leeds and JHR Developments' Sennan Fielding who will no doubt be eager to knock the Carlin drivers off their perch.Ford MSA Formula – Certified by FIA, Powered by Ford EcoBoost
Leading testing times Rockingham 22 March, 2016 (am/pm)1 James PULL / GBR / Carlin 1:18.699 / 1:18.2492 Max FEWTRELL / GBR / Carlin 1:19.191 / 1:18.2833 Alex QUINN / GBR / Fortec 1:18.436 / 1:18.7364 Devlin DeFRANCESCO / CAN / Carlin 1:19.123 / 1:18.5185 Rafael MARTINS / BRA / Arden 1:18.992 / 1:18.7066 Petru FLORESCU / ROM / Carlin 1:19.209 / 1:18.7317 Ross MARTIN / GBR / Fortec 1:19.306 / 1:18.8388 Zane GODDARD / AUS / Double R 1:19.196 / 1:19.2019 Nicolai KJAERGAARD / DEN / Fortec 1:20.432 / 1:19.32310 Ben STURGE / GBR / Richardson Racing 1:22.902 / 1:21.656 etc.