SIMMONS TOPS DOOHAN ON DAY 1 OF CROFT BRITISH F4 TESTING

Ayrton Simmons and JHR Developments edged out Jack Doohan and Arden on day one of a two day test at Croft for the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost.

The pair were consistently quick throughout the day’s running, Simmons once again showcasing the front-running pace which sees him currently leading the championship.

Meanwhile, Red Bull Junior Team driver Doohan picked up where he left off just over two weeks ago when he claimed his maiden single-seater win at Thruxton.

Doohan got the better of Simmons in the morning session, beating him to the top of the times by just 0.013s. He looked set to finish the afternoon quickest too, only for Simmons to pump in a 1m 20.727s lap with little more than five minutes on the clock to go 0.006s clear of the Aussie.

Johnathan Hoggard wasn’t far behind, finding plenty of pace in the afternoon to lap just a tenth adrift and become one of only three drivers to break the 1m 21s barrier.

The Fortec Motorsports driver ended up ahead of Thruxton double race winner Kiern Jewiss (Double R Racing), with Dennis Hauger just 0.009s shy of Jewiss.

Hauger’s team-mate Patrik Pasma wound up seventh, while Hampus Ericsson (Fortec Motorsports) split the Arden duo.

Behind Pasma on the timesheet could be found fellow flying Finn Paavo Tonteri (Double R Racing), with Sebastian Priaulx (Arden) and Manuel Sulaiman (JHR Developments) completing the top 10.

Of note was the official testing debut of Christian Lester and Rosso Verde Racing, as part of an acclimatisation process with a view to entering the F4 British Championship in future.

Testing at Croft resumes tomorrow, before the F4 British Championship certified by FIA – powered by Ford EcoBoost heads to Oulton Park for the upcoming rounds of the season on 9/10 June.