In glorious sunshine at the North Yorkshire circuit, Ericsson kept himself in contention to retain his Championship lead on Sunday with a third placed grid spot for Round Seven and pole for Round Eight. The Swede is also the first person to claim his second pole position this year, with such a competitive grid of young hopefuls all vying for the top starting spot.
“I was a bit disappointed in the first qualifying as I got caught up in traffic but was able to claim the pole next session out,” Ericsson commented. “I was putting in really consistent lap times though and the car is set up perfectly for racing so I’m feeling really positive. I absolutely need to win tomorrow to retain the Championship lead”.
With Ericsson’s closest Championship rival, teammate Henry Arundel (Fortec Motorsport) starting ninth and sixth for Sunday’s races, the youngster may have the chance to extend his Championship lead.
A delighted Sato became the seventh new polesitter of the year for Round Seven and will also start Round Eight on the front row in second. “It’s fantastic”, he smiled “I just hope the races will go as well tomorrow!”
Henry Surtees (Carlin Motorsport) rounded out the top trio for both sessions, claiming second and third spots for the two races tomorrow.
The Rookies were once again challenging at the front, with Surtees topping the class for Round Seven and polesitter Ericsson top Rookie for Round Eight.
With only a second covering the top twelve for both races and the season nearing its halfway point, expect some great action round the sweeping curves of Croft tomorrow.
Results – Qualifying Round 7.
Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1. Kimiya Sato J (Nexa Racing) 1:22.523
2. Henry Surtees GB (Carlin Motorsport) R 1:22.602
3. Marcus Ericsson SWE (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:22.606
4. Josef Kral CZ (Double R Racing) 1:22.808
5. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport) 1:22.823
6. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing) 1:22.862
7. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite) 1:22.932
8. Oliver Webb GB (Carlin Motorsport) R 1:23.027
9. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport) 1:23.042
10. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:23.076
11. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing) 1:23.314
12. Carlos Huertas COL (Double R Racing) R 1:23.402
13. Jordan Williams GB (Team Loctite) 1:23.575
14. Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering) 1:23.673
15. Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite) R 1:23.887
16. Tom Gladdis GB (Team BRD) R 1:24.082
17. Adam Butler GB (Motaworld Racing) R 1:25.220
Results – Qualifying Round 8.
Pos Driver Nat Team Time
1. Marcus Ericsson SWE (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:22.583
2. Kimiya Sato J (Nexa Racing) 1:22.627
3. Henry Surtees GB (Carlin Motorsport) R 1:22.633
4. Daniel McKenzie GB (Fortec Motorsport) 1:22.787
5. Josef Kral CZ (Double R Racing) 1:22.943
6. Henry Arundel GB (Fortec Motorsport) 1:23.089
7. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs GB (Fortec Motorsport) R 1:23.133
8. Sam Abay AUS (Team Loctite) 1:23.156
9. Jonathan Legris GB (Motaworld Racing) 1:23.231
10. Valle Makela SF (Nexa Racing) 1:23.263
11. Oliver Webb GB (Carlin Motorsport) R 1:23.422
12. Carlos Huertas COL (Double R Racing) R 1:23.571
13. Anthony Comas F (Victory Engineering) 1:23.753
14. Rupert Svendsen-Cook GB (Team Loctite) R 1:23.832
15. Jordan Williams GB (Team Loctite) 1:23.920
16. Tom Gladdis GB (Team BRD) R 1:24.915
17. Adam Butler GB (Motaworld Racing) R 1:25.687
R indicates driver eligible for Rookie Cup
Championship Points Tables
Drivers
1. Ericsson (1 win) 226, 2. Arundel (1 win) 216, 3. Surtees 195, 4. Kral (3 wins) 179, 5. McKenzie 176, 6. Legris 174, 7. Webb 172, 8. Makela (1 win) 171, 9. Quaife-Hobbs 149, 10. Sato 142.
Rookies
1. Ericsson 226, 2. Surtees 195, 3. Webb 172, 4. Quaife-Hobbs 149, 5. Huertas 130, 6. Gladdis 88, 7. Holland 64, 8. Svendsen-Cook 48, 9. Butler 34.
Teams
1. Fortec Motorsport 452, 2. Carlin Motorsport 366, 3. Nexa Racing 326, 4. Double R Racing 308, 5. Team Loctite 228, 6. Motaworld Racing 208, 7. Victory Engineering 64, 8. Hyperion Motorsport 32. |
