Thruxton British F3: Fortec's Matt Rao heads small but close field
British Formula 3 Championship leader Matt Rao claimed a double pole position as the series limped on to Thruxton with just five cars
Few as the cars are in number, the remarkable thing is that F3's 'Famous Five' were covered by less than 0.3 seconds after the half-hour session on the super-fast Hampshire circuit.
Rao headed Fortec Motorsport team-mate and main title rival Martin Cao by just 0.034s on overall fastest times, which determine the grid for Sunday's third race of the weekend.
On second-best times, which decide the order for Saturday's opener, the gap was a more comfortable 0.166s.
The pair of Fortec Dallara-Mercedes completed relatively few laps compared to their opposition, theoretically giving them more tyre life across the weekend's three races.
Peter Li took the overall third-fastest time in his Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, but on second-best times he was pipped by F3 debutant Max Marshall.
The British Formula Ford Championship frontrunner, who is racing a Double R Racing Dallara-Mercedes, will therefore start his maiden F3 race from third on the grid.
The sister Double R car of Camren Kaminsky brings up the rear for races one and three.
Race one grid: Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Matt Rao Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m07.843s 2. Martin Cao Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m08.009s +0.166s 3. Max Marshall Double R Dallara-Merc 1m08.072s +0.229s 4. Peter Li Carlin Dallara-VW 1m08.096s +0.253s 5. Camren Kaminsky Double R Dallara-Merc 1m08.264s +0.421s Race three grid: Pos Driver Team/Car Time Gap 1. Matt Rao Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m07.833s 2. Martin Cao Fortec Dallara-Merc 1m07.867s +0.034s 3. Peter Li Carlin Dallara-VW 1m07.969s +0.136s 4. Max Marshall Double R Dallara-Merc 1m08.035s +0.202s 5. Camren Kaminsky Double R Dallara-Merc 1m08.130s +0.297s
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