A day packed full of excitement saw two qualifying sessions go down to the wire with numerous names topping the leader board throughout.

Australia’s Abay made a big improvement to his season’s form, claiming two front row starts for tomorrow’s races.

“It’s a good feeling to be on pole because it’s taken a while to get here.” Abay smiled. “I pushed really hard in the second session and thought I’d done enough to get a second pole, but Ericsson got ahead of me right at the end. I’ll just have to get him back tomorrow! It’s only qualifying, though, and there are many more points to be won in the races. I really like this track; it’s smooth, fast and technical which is similar to the tracks I’m used to, you have to really attack the circuit!”

Swedish Rookie, Ericsson was disappointed with fifth spot for Round 11 but claimed pole for Round 12 with only 30 seconds left on the clock. “I’m struggling a bit as I’ve hardly had any dry track time here. I’m still learning all the lines and braking points while trying to go as fast as possible, which results in me overdriving. On my last lap in second qualifying I really tried to concentrate and I took the pole. Now I just need to bring the car across the line in Round 11 and try to win Round 12. That should hopefully be enough to maintain my championship lead this weekend.”

Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport) and Henry Surtees (Carlin Motorsport) will start second and third on the grid behind Abay for Round 11, both still trying to make vital inroads in Ericsson’s championship lead.

For Round 12, Jordan Williams (Team Loctite) will start third, the best grid slot the 16-year-old has had this season, after holding pole position for part of the session. “I pushed really hard but I think I hit my limit! It’s great for the team though as we are up the front for both races!” said a delighted Williams.

With the top twelve drivers for each race within a second of each other, some new faces challenging at the front, and the possibility of rain tomorrow, Rounds 11 and 12 of the Formula BMW UK Championship look set to throw up yet more surprises.

Results – Qualifying Round 11.

Pos Driver Nat Team  Time
1. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite)  1:11.219
2. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport)              1:11.380
3. Henry Surtees  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R  1:11.381
4. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing)   1:11.488
5. Marcus Ericsson  SWE (Fortec Motorsport)  R  1:11.497
6. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:11.514
7. Josef Kral CZ (Double R Racing)               1:11.518
8. Kimiya Sato  J (Nexa Racing)  1:11.681
9. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport)  1:11.775
10. Oliver Webb  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R  1:11.828
11. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing)  1:11.866
12. Jordan Williams GB (Team Loctite)  1:12.008
13. Carlos Huertas  COL (Double R Racing)  R  1:12.291
14. Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite)  R 1:12.314
15. Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering)  1:12.399
16. Matt Bell GB (Motaworld Racing) R  1:12.534
17. Tom Gladdis  GB (Team BRD)  R 1:12.666
18. Callum Holland GB (Nexa Racing) R 1:14.600

Results – Qualifying Round 12.
 
Pos Driver Nat Team  Time
1. Marcus Ericsson  SWE (Fortec Motorsport)  R  1:10.792
2. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite)  1:11.044
3. Jordan Williams GB (Team Loctite)  1:11.049
4. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport)              1:11.151
5. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing)   1:11.164
6. Josef Kral CZ (Double R Racing)               1:11.171
7. Henry Surtees  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R  1:11.327
8. Kimiya Sato  J (Nexa Racing)  1:11.384
9. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport)  1:11.481
10. Carlos Huertas  COL (Double R Racing)  R  1:11.506
11. Oliver Webb  GB (Carlin Motorsport)  R  1:11.549
12. Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite)  R 1:11.622
13. Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering)  1:11.626
14. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing)  1:11.637
15. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:12.016
16. Matt Bell GB (Motaworld Racing) R  1:12.298
17. Tom Gladdis  GB (Team BRD)  R 1:12.335
18. Callum Holland GB (Nexa Racing) R 1:13.486

R indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup
Championship Points Tables.

Drivers
1. Ericsson (2 wins) 354 , 2. Arundel 348 (1 win), 3. Kral (5 wins) 346, 4. Surtees 289, 5. Sato (1 win) 272, 6. Legris 267, 7. Makela (1 win) 263, 8. McKenzie 254, 9. Quaife-Hobbs 241, 10. Abay 234.

Rookies
1. Ericsson 354, 2. Surtees 289, 3. Quaife-Hobbs 241, 4. Webb 232, 5. Huertas 222, 6. Gladdis 132, 7. Svendsen-Cook 108, 8. Holland 64, 9. Butler 60.

Teams
1. Fortec Motorsport 741, 2. Double R Racing 571, 3. Carlin Motorsport 520, 4. Nexa Racing 547, 6. Team Loctite 418, 7.  Motaworld Racing 327, 8. Victory Engineering 114, 8. Team BRD 44, 9. Hyperion Motorsport 32.