The build up to the opening round of the 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship continued at Oulton Park, with Carlin’s Enaam Ahmed laying down a marker for the rest of the field by topping both practice session on Thursday morning in Cheshire.

In cool and overcast conditions, 19 cars took to the picturesque and undulating circuit for the second of three days of testing ahead of the race weekend’s action, which begins on Saturday. The first hour-long session proved extremely successful for the Carlin team with all three of its cars featuring in the top-four.

With Ahmed leading the way with a lap-time of 1m30.693s, reigning US Formula 4 Champion Cameron Das was third quickest whilst British Formula 4 graduate James Pull claimed fourth; only the retuning Lanan Racing machine of Toby Sowery could split them as he was 0.389s back from Ahmed in second.

The fifth quickest time of the opening hour’s running belonged to South African Callan O’Keeffe, driving for Douglas Motorsport with Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing’s Chase Owen sixth quickest. Seventh and eighth went to the Fortec Motorsports pairing of Ben Hingeley and Nicolai Kjaergaard with the top-10 being rounded out by Aaron di Comberti and Petru Florescu.

Similar conditions prevailed in the second practice session which led up to lunch, and it was Hillspeed’s Owen that led the way early on before his team-mate Jordan Cane suffered an off to bring the red flags out.

Once the session resumed, Ahmed moved to the top of the timing screens ahead of Sowery and Owen, before the red flag was thrown once more for the third Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing car of German teenager Nick Worm coming to grief.

Once his car had been recovered, the session did restart for three minutes but the times remained as they were and Ahmed led the way from Sowery, Owen, Das and O’Keeffe. Hingeley ended sixth quickest ahead of Pull and newly announced Double R Racing driver, Brazilian Guilherme Samaia. Despite his off at the midway point of the session, Jordan Cane claimed ninth ahead of former British GT GT4 Champion, Jamie Chadwick.

There are two more hour-long practice sessions during Thursday here at Oulton Park, with them beginning at 14:00 and 16:00 respectively.

BRDC British F3 – Oulton Park – Thursday First Practice Top-10



1. Enaam Ahmed, Carlin, 1m30.693s

2. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +0.389s

3. Cameron Das, Carlin, +0.617s

4. James Pull, Carlin, +0.678s

5. Callan O’Keeffe, Douglas Motorsport, +0.771s

6. Chase Owen, Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing, +0.791s

7. Ben Hingeley, Fortec Motorsports, +0.901s

8. Nicolai Kjaergaard, Fortec Motorsports, +1.059s

9. Aaron di Comberti, Lanan Racing, +1.063s

10. Petru Florescu, Douglas Motorsport, +1.069s

BRDC British F3 – Oulton Park – Thursday Second Practice Top-10



1. Enaam Ahmed, Carlin, 1m30.362s

2. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing,+0.223s

3. Chase Owen, Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing, +0.462s

4. Cameron Das, Carlin, +0.479s

5. Callan O’Keeffe, Douglas Motorsport, +0.552s

6. Ben Hingeley, Fortec Motorsports, +0.583s

7. James Pull, Carlin, +0.761s

8. Guilherme Samaia, Double R Racing, +0.867s

9. Jordan Cane, Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing, +0.920s

10. Jamie Chadwick, Double R Racing, +0.925s