Molnar leads combined British F4 and GB4 Brands Hatch test

Photo: Jakob Ebrey Photography

Virtuosi Racing’s Martin Molnar was fastest in Wednesday’s test for Formula 4 and GB4 cars on Brands Hatch’s Grand Prix layout.

A total of 45 cars took part in three 40-minute sessions, and Molnar was 0.082 seconds quicker than fellow British F4 title contender James Piszcyk in the combined results.

Molnar registered a 1m27.780s benchmark approaching the halfway stage of session one only for Pisczyk to pip him by 0.068s moments later. Hitech GP’s Thomas Bearman soon lowered the pace to 1m27.380s, a time that would remain unbeaten in the final 20 minutes.

Argenti Motorsport’s Ethan Jeff-Hall reduced Molnar’s advantage to 0.052s, with Fortec Motorsports’ Henry Joslyn also moving ahead of Piszcyk and Molnar into third.

Jeff Hall, Rowan Campbell-Pilling and Chase Fernandez took it in turns to the lower the pace in session two before Piszcyk set a new best of a 1m26.477s with 22 minutes left on the clock. He displaced Jeff-Hall from top spot by just 0.023s, and the pair would remain in the top two, while Bearman and Fernandez ended the session less than 0.2s behind.

Karting star Dries Van Langendonck tested for Rodin Motorsport, and the 14-year-old McLaren junior shone by setting a new fastest time so far of 1m26.395s in session three. Several drivers went quicker still over the next few minutes, with championship leader Fionn McLaughlin moving to the top with 10 minutes remaining.

But the Hitech GP driver was eventually shuffled down to fifth, as Molnar set his test-topping time 1m25.379s three minutes later, and Piszcyk climbed to second ahead of Jeff-Hall and GB4 racer Thomas Ingram Hill.

Bearman was sixth ahead of Fernandez and Van Langendonck, with the top eight separated by 0.291s.

Elite Motorsport’s Alex Kattoulas was the best of the GB4 runners in session one by posting a 1m27.079s, with Fortec’s Ingram Hill leading the way with 1m26.428s and 1m25.600s laps respectively in sessions two and three.

Jack Taylor, who scored his first two GB4 victories last weekend at Silverstone, was 0.094s behind his Fortec team-mate in the final session and ended the test ninth in the combined classification, with KMR Sport’s Alex O’Grady and Elite trio Ary Bansal, Isaac Phelps and Kattoulas all close behind.

Points leader Daniel Guinchard was eighth quickest of the GB4 runners for Hillspeed.

Test results