Championship leader Enaam Ahmed continued his excellent Snetterton form so far this weekend with a superb display to claim pole position in qualifying this morning (Saturday).

His time of 1m43.202s, set just as the chequered flag came out was 0.339s clear of the field, with Lanan Racing's Toby Sowery clinching a front row slot in second place, while a late effort from Krishnaraaj Mahadik put him third fastest for Double R Racing, only 0.068s off Sowery's effort.

Carlin duo James Pull and Cameron Das were fourth and fifth fastest with Jordan Cane sixth for Douglas Motorsport. Ben Hingeley was seventh for Fortec with Chase Owen (Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing) eighth, Double R Racing's Guilherme Samaia ninth and Douglas Motorsport's Callan O'Keeffe 10th, with the top-10 covered by less than eight tenths of a second.

Morning rain complicated any pre-qualifying plans, with most of the field opting for dry tyres at the start of the session, while Fortec drivers Hingeley and Manuel Maldonado, as well as Lanan's Toby Sowery opted for wets in the early stages. But with immediate lap times not far off yesterday's testing results, the trio were quickly back into the pits to change onto dry weather Pirellis.

All three Carlin drivers took turns to occupy top spot in the first half of the session, but improving conditions meant that lap times quickly tumbled, and it was only at the midway point that Ahmed began to stamp his authority on the qualifying. His effort of 1m43.453s with 12 minutes remaining would have been quick enough to secure pole anyway, but the championship leader was determined to show his credentials, and set a further three laps that were all improvements, each time shaving fractions of a second off in a brilliant display of consistency, his best overall time of 1m43.202s coming as the chequered flag dropped.

Behind him was wide open though, with Sowery popping up to second place with just over five minutes to go, with the top three having been occupied by the Carlin drivers for much of the session. Mahadik's effort with around a minute remaining was well deserved after a session in which he showed constant improvement, and backs up his win on his BRDC British F3 return last time out at Brands Hatch.

Pull and Das had to settle for fourth and fifth, having been challengers for pole in the early stages, but both less than a tenth of a second off Mahadik in a very close session, with Douglas Motorsport's Cane just a tenth further adrift.

With Hingeley, Owen, Samaia and O'Keeffe all separated by less than a tenth of a second, all indications point towards a very exciting first race of the weekend, which starts at 14.30, and a contest which could edge Ahmed ever closer to the title.

BRDC British F3 Championship, Snetterton qualifying result:

1. Enaam Ahmed, Carlin, 1m43.202s

2. Toby Sowery, Lanan Racing, +0.339s

3. Krishnaraaj Mahadik, Double R Racing, +0.407s

4. James Pull, Carlin, +0.451s

5. Cameron Das, Carlin, +0.467s

6. Jordan Cane, Douglas Motorsport, +0.567s

7. Ben Hingeley, Fortec Motorsports, +0.658s

8. Chase Owen, Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing, +0.701s

9. Guilherme Samaia, Double R Racing, +0.738s

10. Callan O'Keeffe, Douglas Motorsport, +0.741s

11. Jamie Chadwick, Double R Racing, +0.986s

12. Omar Ismail, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1.449s

13. Nicolai Kjaergaard, Fortec Motorsports, +1.694s

14. Manuel Maldonado, Fortec Motorsports, +2.175s

15. Nick Worm, Hillspeed with Cliff Dempsey Racing, +2.300s