THIRD PLACE START FOR QUINN AT OULTON
Alex Quinn narrowly missed out on pole position for the opening race of round four of the F4 British Championship at Oulton Park, having to settle for a third place start.
The Racing Steps Foundation-backed youngster, having overcome engine issues on the earlier Friday practice day, targeted a front row start to split the dominant quartet of Carlin machines which had locked out the top four positions in the previous day’s test.
Having bedded in a new set of tyres on the opening lap, Quinn pitted for a new pair of rubber to the left side of his Mygale racer.
Building up tyre temperature on his resumption, the Fortec Motorsports racer then hit the top of the timing screens with his first quick lap, setting a time of 1m 22.741s.
With all drivers backing off to prepare for their last shot at pole position on the final lap, Quinn set the overall quickest time in the first two sectors, but was then held up by a driver ahead, preventing Quinn from improving on both his quickest and second fastest lap times.
That resulted in Quinn being demoted to third position for the opening race. He will then start the final race of the weekend, based on his second quickest time, from fifth place on the grid.
The tyres took a while to warm up as the track was pretty cold,” Quinn said. “Once I’d set my first quickest time, I began to attack again but I hit traffic. That was the perfect time though to have a cool down before going for two further hot laps.
“But unfortunately in the final sector of the final lap, on the run up to the chequered flag, a driver ahead had already begun to slow down which ruined my lap. I think we could have been quickest had it not been for the traffic.”
Quinns believes that, with pre-qualifying issues resolved, he can battle with the rival Carlin drivers for the opening race victory.
“The Carlin drivers have been strong already this weekend so it’s positive that I’ve split them up,” Quinn added. “We’ve made good improvements from yesterday’s practice sessions and we’ve caught the Carlin guys up.
“It’s going to be tough to overtake in the races on this track. We do have strong pace so it will be close. The start will be important, but it’s a long race.”
OULTON PARK: (3.582km / 2.226 miles): Qualifying results (top 10)
Position
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Driver (Nat)
Devlin DeFrancesco (CAN)
Petru Florescu (ROM)
Alex Quinn (GBR) / R
Jamie Caroline (GBR)
Max Fewtrell (GBR)
James Pull (GBR)
Ayrton Simmons (GBR) / R
Rafael Martins (BRA)
Zane Goddard (AUS)
Jack Martin (GBR)
Team / Car
Carlin
Carlin
Fortec
Jamun
Carlin
Carlin
TRS Arden
TRS Arden
Double R
TRS Arden
Time / Gap
1m 22.612s
+0.032s
+0.129s
+0.149s
+0.168s
+0.370s
+0.553s
+0.612s
+0.675s
+0.749s
OULTON PARK: 2nd fastest time Qualifying results (top 10)
Position
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Driver (Nat)
Petru Florescu (ROM)
Devlin DeFrancesco (CAN)
Max Fewtrell (GBR)
Jamie Caroline (GBR)
Alex Quinn (GBR) / R
James Pull (GBR)
Ayrton Simmons (GBR) / R
Rafael Martins (BRA)
Nicolai Kjaergaard (DEN) /R
Frank Bird (GBR)
Team / Car
Carlin
Carlin
Carlin
Jamun
Fortec
Carlin
TRS Arden
TRS Arden
Fortec
Fortec
Time / Gap
1m 22.763s
+0.005s
+0.037s
+0.056s
+0.143s
+0.308s
+0.503s
+0.572s
+0.759s
+0.782s
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Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography.
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Report: Racing Steps Foundation - Russell Hayes, Racing Steps Foundation PR & Communications Manager