Bortolotti on top again in Brands Hatch free practice one
Mirko Bortolotti continued his hot streak in Formula 2 by topping the opening free practice session at Brands Hatch
A clean sweep in the previous round at the Nurburgring means Bortolotti comes into Brands Hatch chasing his fourth consecutive victory - and fifth of the season - while his championship lead stands at 22 points over nearest challenger Christopher Zanella.
The Italian's current dominance showed little sign of abating after the first session at the Kent circuit, with Bortolotti ending more than seven tenths clear of the rest of the field.
Briton Jack Clarke was best of the rest in second, albeit 0.730s adrift. Clarke has previous form at Brands Hatch, having finished second behind eventual champion Dean Stoneman when F2 visited the track last year.
Tobias Hegewald shaded Max Snegirev and Mihai Marinescu for third, but such was Bortolotti's dominance that Snegirev was the last man to finish within one second of the benchmark time.
Alex Brundle and Jordan King contested sixth, with Brundle eventually claiming the place by less than two tenths of a second.
Miki Monras, third in the championship, finished eighth fastest ahead of Kelvin Snoeks and James Cole.
The 45 minute session featured two red flags, as Spain's Ramon Pineiro span early on the Cooper straight and James Cole went off at Westfield at the halfway mark.
Pos Driver Time Gap 1. Mirko Bortolotti 1m17.352s 2. Jack Clarke 1m18.082s + 0.730s 3. Tobias Hegewald 1m18.097s + 0.745s 4. Maxim Snegirev 1m18.181s + 0.829s 5. Mihai Marinescu 1m18.289s + 0.937s 6. Alex Brundle 1m18.415s + 1.063s 7. Jordan King 1m18.564s + 1.212s 8. Miki Monras 1m18.630s + 1.278s 9. Kelvin Snoeks 1m18.646s + 1.294s 10. James Cole 1m18.703s + 1.351s 11. Benjamin Lariche 1m18.719s + 1.367s 12. Thiemo Storz 1m18.807s + 1.455s 13. Ramon Pineiro 1m18.848s + 1.496s 14. Mikkel Mac 1m19.216s + 1.864s 15. Plamen Kralev 1m19.331s + 1.979s 16. Armaan Ebrahim 1m19.483s + 2.131s 17. Parthiva Sureshwaren 1m19.501s + 2.149s 18. Christopher Zanella 1m19.582s + 2.230s 19. Jose Luis Abadin 1m19.656s + 2.304s 20. Sunghak Mun 1m20.488s + 3.136s
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