Double pole for Rookie Ericsson

With some much welcomed sunshine following the downpour at Donington Park, Championship leader Ericsson put in two flying laps in the dying seconds of each session taking his pole position tally to seven.

“The car was really good in the first session but we had to make some changes during the second,” Ericsson commented. “I knew I had to push hard at the end if I was to get pole, which I’m happy I did!”

Ericsson will start alongside his two closest rivals in the Championship, Josef Kral (Double R Racing) and Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport), in tomorrow’s races. “It’s great for the Championship,” Ericsson commented, “I’m getting quite used to racing against Kral now so I think it will be fun!”

Seventeen-year-old Kral, will start second and third for Rounds 13 and 14 respectively. “I’m happy with my positions,” said the Czech driver. “I made mistakes on both my quickest laps in each session so I know I could be faster. There’s going to be some close racing tomorrow and I’m really looking forward to it!”

A disappointed Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport) will start fifth and second respectively, which still leaves him in a good position to challenge Championship leader Ericsson.

Rookie Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Fortec Motorsport), who is working with a new engineer this weekend, made significant improvement in second qualifying to claim fourth position for Round 14. “The second session was much better as we were still learning the best set-up for the car,” said Quaife-Hobbs. “I was on pole towards the end but unfortunately I dropped down to fourth as the top three went quicker right at the end. It’s good for tomorrow though so I’m happy.”

With qualifying at Snetterton less critical than most circuits the series visits this year, due to the large number of overtaking opportunities, two races full of wheel-to-wheel action look set to unfold.

Results – Qualifying Round 13.

Pos Driver Nat Team  Time
1. Marcus Ericsson  SWE (Fortec Motorsport)  R  1:09.289
2. Josef Kral CZ (Double R Racing)               1:09.462
3. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing)  1:09.528
4. Henry Surtees  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R  1:09.598
5. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport)              1:09.661
6. Oliver Webb  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R  1:09.678
7. Jordan Williams GB (Team Loctite)  1:09.689
8. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:09.767
9. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing)   1:09.808
10. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport)  1:09.925
11. Kimiya Sato  J (Nexa Racing)  1:09.998
12. Carlos Huertas  COL (Double R Racing)  R  1:10.017
13. Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering)  1:10.060
14. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite)  1:10.099
15. Tom Gladdis  GB (Team BRD)  R 1:10.204
16. Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite)  R 1:10.212
17. Doru Sechelariu ROM (Double R Racing)  1:11.163

Results – Qualifying Round 14.
 
Pos Driver Nat Team  Time
1. Marcus Ericsson  SWE (Fortec Motorsport)  R  1:09.863
2. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport)              1:09.966
3. Josef Kral CZ (Double R Racing)               1:10.037
4. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:10.043
5. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing)  1:10.394
6. Oliver Webb  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R  1:10.522
7. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite)  1:10.614
8. Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering)  1:10.616
9. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport)  1:10.692
10. Kimiya Sato  J (Nexa Racing)  1:10.704
11. Carlos Huertas  COL (Double R Racing)  R  1:10.726
12. Tom Gladdis  GB (Team BRD)  R 1:10.865
13. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing)   1:10.894
14. Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite)  R 1:11.379
15. Doru Sechelariu ROM (Double R Racing)   1:11.612
DQ       Henry Surtees*  GB (Carlin Motorsport)    R
DQ      Jordan Williams* GB (Team Loctite)             

R indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup

*Penalty applied for breach of technical regulations

Championship Points Tables.

Drivers
1. Ericsson (2 wins) 427, 2. Arundel 422 (1 win), 3. Kral (5 wins) 418, 4. Surtees 364 (1 win), 5. Sato (1 win) 340, 6. Legris 334 (1 win), 7. Makela (1 win) 319, 8. McKenzie 308, 9. Abay 275,10. Webb 266.

Rookies
1. Ericsson 427, 2. Surtees 364, 3. Webb 266, 4. Quaife-Hobbs 265, 5. Huertas 244, 6. Gladdis 166, 7. Svendsen-Cook 118, 8. Holland 76, 9. Butler 60, 10. Bell 30.

Teams
1. Fortec Motorsport 887, 2. Nexa Racing 671, 3. Double R Racing 665, 4. Carlin Motorsport 629, 5. Team Loctite 502, 6.  Motaworld Racing 424, 7. Victory Engineering 132, 8. Team BRD 78, 9. Hyperion Motorsport 32.