Carlin duo Joe Turney and Zane Maloney were split by just 0.008 seconds at the top of the times in British Formula 4 free practice at Oulton Park.

Although low on straightline speed, JHR Developments’ Josh Skelton looked the strongest driver over the two sessions, and did set the pace in the first one of the day.

He failed to hook up a perfect lap in the afternoon though, as the two Carlin drivers pushed one another to the limit.

By hooking together his three best sectors at once it was Turney who took top spot, with Maloney doing the same but losing almost a tenth of a second to his team-mate in the final sector.

Skelton was still third fastest in the afternoon, a tenth-and-a-half back, and it was his team-mate Carter Williams that completed the top four. Williams made headlines at Oulton Park in BRSCC National Formula Ford 1600 last year after clashing with returning champion Luke Williams.

In fourth and fifth in free practice were Double R Racing’s Louis Foster and the sole Richardson Racing car of Luke Browning, both within a third of a second of Carlin’s pace. Browning was one of the more impressive drivers in the slower morning session, where he went third quickest and was denied a faster time by yellow flags.

Next up were the closely matched Arden trio of Alex Connor, Bart Horsten and Tommy Foster, who would likely have been behind Louis Foster’s team-mate Sebastian Alvarez had the Mexican not hit troubles in the afternoon.

Fortec Motorsports’ Roberto Faria and Mariano Martinez were off the pace, and also the cause of several yellow, and red flags being waved throughout the day. Championship debutant Alex Walker (JHR) ended up beating them, lapping less than two seconds off the pace in his first official British F4 session.

Free Practice results