Abbott and Rudd surprise in FFord qualifying at Brands Hatch

James Abbott and Simon Rudd took an unexpected pole position each in qualifying for the final round of the Formula Ford GB season at Brands Hatch.

Abbott managed a time of 1m47.359s on his first timed lap, which ended up being the fastest time of the session, giving him pole for race one. Oil that went down on a damp track after a few laps made life difficult for those trying to match Abbott’s benchmark.

Rudd, making his series debut after appearing in BRDC F4 earlier in the year, moved up to second place with his final effort, 1.653 seconds away from Abbott. Rudd’s penultimate lap of the session was the best of the drivers’ second-quickest times, meaning he will start race two from pole position.

Juan Rosso finished up third quickest with his first effort, over two seconds slower than Abbott. Later laps put him second on the grid for race two and on pole position for race three (third best times), giving the Argentine driver a good opportunity to claim his maiden race win before the weekend is out.

Jayde Kruger, Harrison Scott and Camren Kaminsky – who all scored their first wins last time out at Silverstone – completed the top six quickest times, with Andy Richardson, Max Marshall, Sam Brabham and Luke Reade rounding out the top ten.

The order behind Rudd and Rosso on the race two grid will be Kruger, Kaminsky, Abbott and Scott. Rosso will be heading Rudd, Kaminsky, Kruger, Abbott and Marshall on the grid for race three.

Session times