Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography
GB4 points leader Linus Granfors topped qualifying at Donington Park to take his first two pole positions.
The Fortec Motorsports driver continued his pace-setting form from pre-event testing to lead KMR Sport’s Brandon McCaughan and Fox Motorsport’s returnee Liam McNeilly in the 15-minute session, giving him pole for the opening contest of the weekend, and the Swede’s second-best lap was good enough to put him at the front of the grid again for race two.
McCaughan led the way early on with a 1m29.279s before USF Juniors race-winner McNeilly, who is making a one-off GB4 return, lowered the pace by half a second.
Having both initially sat towards the bottom of the timesheet, Granfors and Elite Motorsport’s Alisha Palmowski improved to second and third ahead of McCaughan, who then responded to go quickest with a 1m28.771s.
Granfors posted a 1m28.381s on his next lap to beat McCaughan’s effort by 0.4 seconds, and he remained on top in the final few minutes despite being unable to improve further.
McNeilly halved Granfors’ advantage when he went second fastest, but he was then denied a front row spot for race one by McCaughan who improved as the chequered flag fell.
Finn Harrison edged team-mate Palmowski by 0.002s for fourth in the closing stages, but the pair were then demoted by late efforts from Hillspeed-supported privateer Marcus Luzio and KMR’s Harry Burgoyne Jr.
Graham Brunton Racing’s Callum Baxter was eighth ahead of Arden’s Leon Wilson, who also set a personal best on his final lap, with KMR’s Chloe Grant within one second of the pace in 10th.
Luzio secured his maiden front row start alongside Granfors for race two, with McCaughan third ahead of McNeilly, Harrison and Palmowski.
Qualifying results
Race 1 grid
1 Linus Granfors Fortec Motorsports 1m28.381s
2 Brandon McCaughan KMR Sport +0.189s
3 Liam McNeilly Fox Motorsport +0.208s
4 Marcus Luzio Hillspeed +0.306s
5 Harry Burgoyne Jr KMR Sport + 0.670s
6 Finn Harrison Elite Motorsport +0.787s
7 Alisha Palmowski Elite Motorsport +0.789s
8 Callum Baxter Graham Brunton Racing +0.846s
9 Leon Wilson Arden + 0.915s
10 Chloe Grant KMR Sport +0.990s
Race 2 grid
1 Granfors 1m28.554s
2 Luzio +0.182s
3 McCaughan +0.217s
4 McNeilly +0.231s
5 Harrison +0.632s
6 Palmowski +0.711s
7 Wilson +0.828s
8 Burgoyne Jr +0.841s
9 Grant +0.844s
10 Brandon Templeton Fox Motorsport +0.890s