Fortec Motorsport's Ben Hingeley claimed pole position in a frantic qualifying session at Donington Park this morning (Saturday 23 September).

Hingeley held top spot at several points in the session before putting in a 1m25.108s with five minutes to go that proved to be the best in session. Champion Enaam Ahmed was second quickest, just 0.044s slower than Hingeley, having opted to put in most of his qualifying laps in the second half of the session.

Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing's Chase Owen was an impressive third fastest, and had looked on course to improve further until the session was brought to a slightly premature halt.

Fellow American Cameron Das was fourth for Carlin, just 0.017s behind Owen and 0.026s ahead of Douglas Motorsport's Callan O'Keeffe. Jordan Cane was sixth fastest and brought out the red flags at the end of the session with a spin into the gravel at Coppice.

Newcomer Alex Quinn was seventh for Lanan Racing, just 0.513s off pole in his first competitive BRDC British F3 session. James Pull, aiming to secure second place in the standings this weekend could only manage eighth ahead of Jamie Chadwick, with Manuel Maldonado completing the top-10.

Nicola Kjaergaard was an early high-flyer and was 11th fastest ahead of F3 debutant Pavan Ravishankar, while Jermey Wahome, fresh from an overnight flight from his native Kenya was 13th. Guilherme Samaia completed the order and brought out the red flag with 10 minutes of the session elapsed after a spin at Coppice, which ruled him out of the remainder of the session.

The 30 minute session proved a frantic one, with several drivers taking over at the top, including Guilherme Samaia, Chadwick, Quinn, Ahmed and Owen taking turns at the top before Hingeley stamped his authority on the session with a time faster than last year's race lap record.

The first BRDC British F3 race of the weekend takes place at 15.50.

BRDC British F3 Championship, Donington Park, qualifying result:

1. Ben Hingeley, Fortec Motorsports, 1m25.108s

2. Enaam Ahmed, Carlin, +0.044s

3. Chase Owen, Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing, +0.334s

4. Cameron Das, Carlin, +0.351s

5. Callan O'Keeffe, Douglas Motorsport, +0.377s

6. Jordan Cane, Douglas Motorsport, +0.403s

7. Alex Quinn, Lanan Racing, +0.513s

8. James Pull, Carlin, +0.658s

9. Jamie Chadwick, Double R Racing, +0.758s

10. Manuel Maldonado, Fortec Motorsports, +0.889s

11. Nicolai Kjaergaard, Fortec Motorsports, +0.965s

12. Pavan Ravishankar, Double R Racing, +1.942s

13. Jeremy Wahome, Chris Dittmann Racing, +2.686s

14. Guilherme Samaia, Double R Racing, +3.686s