Loake tops GB3 action, Alibhai the fastest F4 driver in Brands Hatch test

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

GB3, GB4 and British Formula 4 were all in action today for a test on Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix layout.

The 24 GB3 drivers had their own sessions, while the first and second-generation F4 cars of GB4 and British F4 shared the track for their three sessions.

Arden VRD’s James Hedley was fastest in the first 40-minute session for GB3, setting a 1m20.061s on his final lap to beat JHR Developments’ Joseph Loake by 0.114 seconds.

Loake had gone to the top with his final lap a minute before that, toppling team-mate Matthew Rees’ long-standing 1m20.194s benchmark by 0.019s.

Rees had set that time less than six minutes in, after several drivers traded top spot. Douglas Motorsport’s Tymek Kucharczyk was fastest on the opening laps, then Loake and Rees beat him by lapping in the 1m21s.

Elite Motorsport’s McKenzy Cresswell was next to the top, but only was in front for seven seconds before Rees went almost a second faster.

The laptimes were quicker from the off in session two, with Kucharczyk again the early pacesetter. Hedley was the first driver into the 1m20s, and half a minute later Cresswell set the fastest lap of the day. When Rees crossed the line he brought the pace down into the 1m19s, which was bettered by Loake, Cresswell and then Hitech GP’s Alex Dunne who set a 1m19.611s.

There was then no change at the top for almost 18 minutes, with Rodin Carlin’s Callum Voisin eventually beating Dunne with a 1m19.563s. He improved two more times to end the session with a 1m19.281s, putting him 0.102s up on Dunne and 0.13s ahead of Cresswell.

Voisin was one of six drivers who failed to go faster in session three, dropping him to fifth overall. Kucharczyk once again set the early pace, then Cresswell was on top for over half an hour before Loake set a 1m19.075s on his final lap of the day to usurp him by 0.013s. Dunne and Rees were also within 0.1s of Loake, while fifth-placed David Morales was half a second back.

JHR’s Deagen Fairclough topped the first F4 session, a 1m25.619s putting him 0.08s ahead of Double R Racing’s recent single-seater debutant Freddie Slater. Fox Motorsport’s Liam McNeilly was the fastest GB4 driver in ninth, 0.524s off the pace.

McNeilly then lowered the pace in session two. He set a 1m25.007s, which was 0.014s faster than British F4’s new points leader Louis Sharp who went second quickest on his final lap. Slater was third, a further 0.011s behind.

Every British F4 entry bar Argenti Motorsport’s Yuanpu Cui – a Mercedes-AMG Formula 1 junior and karter making his F4 test debut – improved in session three, with Virtuosi Racing’s Aqil Alibahi ending on top with a 1m24.787s after three red flag periods.

Hitech’s Kanato Le was next best, 0.037s behind, Sharp was 0.043s back in third and Slater was fourth. KMR Sport’s Tom Mills was the top GB4 driver in ninth, but ended his day in the Paddock Hill Bend gravel and could not better McNeilly’s session two time.

Test results