Louis Foster storms to double pole position at Silverstone
- Foster on double pole; top four in the standings occupy front two rows of the grid.
- Ultra-competitive field split by just 0.9s around 1.6-mile National circuit at Silverstone.
- Titanic battle expected in the opening race; lights out at 15:55 (BST).
Double R Racing’s Louis Foster stormed to a double pole position in qualifying for the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost triple-header at Silverstone, Northamptonshire, this weekend.
Foster, back on form after a return to the winner’s circle last time out at Knockhill, translated his pace in testing through to qualifying, setting a blistering 56.253 around the 1.6-mile National circuit at Silverstone to eclipse JHR’s Josh Skelton by just a tenth of a second in a closely-fought session.
Significantly for the championship, Zane Maloney (Carlin) will start third ahead of Double R’s Sebastian Alvarez, meaning the top four in the points lock out the top four positions on the grid for the opening race later today.
The advantage ebbed and flowed over the course of the 20-minute session – five different drivers held top spot at some stage – but Foster’s benchmark with seven minutes left to run held firm.
It’s an all-JHR third row with in-form Carter Williams starting alongside team mate Alex Walker; it’s a similar story for Arden Motorsport on row four between Bart Horsten and Alex Connor, the latter set for a titanic battle with Fortec’s Roberto Faria over the Vice-Champion honours in the Rookie Cup.
Faria’s team-mate Mariano Martinez rounds out the top ten behind Tommy Foster (Arden), with the Brazilian starting 11th.
Abbie Munro (Arden) will be hoping to maintain her one-hundred percent scoring record in the Ford EcoBoost-powered series from 12th; Reema Juffali has been right in the mix in recent times and will prove tough competition from 13th.
Championship newcomer Chris Lulham comes next, with Richardson Racing’s Luke Browning rounding out an ultra-competitive field split by just 0.9 seconds.
The opening race at Silverstone is scheduled to get underway at 15:55 BST.
Provisional Grid – Race 1
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis FOSTER | Double R Racing | 56.253s |
| 2 | Josh SKELTON | JHR Developments | +0.133s |
| 3 | Zane MALONEY | Carlin | +0.178s |
| 4 | Sebastian ALVAREZ | Double R Racing | +0.197s |
| 5 | Carter WILLIAMS | JHR Developments | +0.238s |
| 6 | Alex WALKER (R) | JHR Developments | +0.400s |
| 7 | Bart HORSTEN | Arden Motorsport | +0.411s |
| 8 | Alex CONNOR (R) | Arden Motorsport | +0.504s |
| 9 | Tommy FOSTER | Arden Motorsport | +0.550s |
| 10 | Mariano MARTINEZ | Fortec Motorsport | +0.554s |
| 11 | Roberto FARIA (R) | Fortec Motorsport | +0.606s |
| 12 | Abbie MUNRO | Arden Motorsport | +0.695 |
| 13 | Reema JUFFALI | Double R Racing | +0.765s |
| 14 | Chris LULHAM | Fortec Motorsport | +0.876s |
| 15 | Luke BROWNING | Richardson Racing | +0.921s |
Provisional Grid – Race 3 – 2nd Fastest Classification
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louis FOSTER | Double R Racing | 56.336s |
| 2 | Josh SKELTON | JHR Developments | +0.056s |
| 3 | Zane MALONEY (R) | Carlin | +0.188s |
| 4 | Sebastian ALVAREZ | Double R Racing | +0.201s |
| 5 | Carter WILLIAMS | JHR Developments | +0.277s |
| 6 | Bart HORSTEN | Arden Motorsport | +0.335s |
| 7 | Alex WALKER (R) | JHR Developments | +0.391s |
| 8 | Alex CONNOR (R) | Arden Motorsport | +0.470s |
| 9 | Tommy FOSTER | Arden Motorsport | +0.477s |
| 10 | Mariano MARTINEZ | Fortec Motorsport | +0.637s |
| 11 | Abbie MUNRO | Arden Motorsport | +0.685s |
| 12 | Roberto FARIA (R) | Fortec Motorsport | +0.693s |
| 13 | Reema JUFFALI | Double R Racing | +0.719s |
| 14 | Chris LULHAM | Fortec Motorsport | +0.814s |
| 15 | Luke BROWNING | Richardson Racing | +0.956s |
