Toyota Racing Series championship leader Lance Stroll posted the quickest time of the three practice sessions on Friday at Hampton Downs.
The Canadian was within the top three in each of the sessions and claimed the top spot for the day with a benchmark lap in second practice.
In session one, Giles driver Sam MacLeod led early on, but his teammate Santino Ferrucci would go on to take first. A red flag for Jamie Conroy ended the 30-minute practice early, leaving the American as the quickest driver.
ETEC’s single-seater newcomer Callum Ilott was an encouraging second, narrowly leading Stroll and Thomas Randle.
MacLeod ended up fifth, ahead of M2 drivers Brandon Maisano, Arjun Maini and Charlie Eastwood. James Munro was the top Kiwi in ninth, while Mathias Kristensen took tenth.
Maini became the first driver this weekend to go below a minute early in session two, but was soon deposed by Maisano.
Stroll then went to the top, and, while Maini improved at the last second, the Ferrari junior retook the lead after the checkered flag.
The Indian settled for second, with Maisano rounding out an all-M2 top three. Randle was fourth again, leading teammate Ilott and Brendon Leitch.
Munro in seventh was narrowly ahead of Eastwood and Nikita Mazepin, while Alfonso Celis was tenth.
Stefan Riener led the early stages of the final session when it was red-flagged due to a crash for Munro. The lead changed hands numerous times after the subsequent restart, eventually ending up with Maini in the final five minutes.
The Indian continued to improve and narrowly escaped with first, despite quick laps from runner-up MacLeod and third-placed Stroll.
Kristensen was fourth, with Ilott on an identical time and Maisano just 0.002s behind.
Eastwood took seventh, while Artem Markelov, Ferdinand Habsburg and Mazepin rounded out the top ten.
Combined session results
Pos. | Driver | Team | S1 | S2 | S3 |
1 | Lance Stroll | M2 Competition | 1:00.350 | 59.375 | 59.619 |
2 | Arjun Maini | M2 Competition | 1:00.443 | 59.524 | 59.498 |
3 | Sam MacLeod | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.387 | 1:00.187 | 59.589 |
4 | Brandon Maisano | M2 Competition | 1:00.435 | 59.606 | 59.863 |
5 | Callum Ilott | ETEC Motorsport | 1:00.341 | 1:00.039 | 59.861 |
6 | Mathias Kristensen | M2 Competition | 1:00.672 | 1:00.188 | 59.861 |
7 | Thomas Randle | ETEC Motorsport | 1:00.354 | 59.969 | 1:00.205 |
8 | Charlie Eastwood | M2 Competition | 1:00.515 | 1:00.073 | 1:00.031 |
9 | Brendon Leitch | Victory Motor Racing | 1:01.021 | 1:00.046 | 1:00.317 |
10 | James Munro | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.624 | 1:00.069 | 1:03.046 |
11 | Nikita Mazepin | ETEC Motorsport | 1:00.818 | 1:00.085 | 1:00.184 |
12 | Santino Ferrucci | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.108 | 1:00.213 | 1:00.289 |
13 | Artem Markelov | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.836 | 1:00.272 | 1:00.156 |
14 | Alfonso Celis | Giles Motorsport | 1:00.727 | 1:00.162 | 1:00.415 |
15 | Ferdinand Habsburg | Victory Motor Racing | 1:00.753 | 1:00.345 | 1:00.179 |
16 | Dzhon Simonyan | Giles Motorsport | 1:01.467 | 1:00.209 | 1:00.252 |
17 | Stefan Riener | Victory Motor Racing | 1:01.028 | 1:00.447 | 1:00.246 |
18 | Damon Leitch | Victory Motor Racing | 1:01.162 | 1:00.550 | 1:00.355 |
19 | Matteo Ferrer | ETEC Motorsport | 1:00.747 | 1:00.410 | No Time |
20 | Jamie Conroy | M2 Competition | 1:01.205 | 1:00.517 | 1:00.544 |
Personal best time in bold
Best time of session in italics