The Formula 3 free practice session in Imola went underway as the drivers slowly made their way onto the track. The last time the drivers took to the track was in Melbourne and the three-day test in Barcelona last month.
The current standings see Luke Browning of Hitech Pulse-Eight and Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli lead the Drivers Championship with 37 points, followed by the PREMA trio, Gabriele Minì, Dino Beganovic and Arvid Lindblad.
It was a quiet start, with just a few drivers venturing out for some installation laps. 10 minutes into the session, the drivers began to get in their car.
The Trident team are the first to send both drivers out.
Lindblad set the first fastest time with a 1:33.784s.
ART Grand Prix Nikola Tsolov went through the gravel at Aqua Minerali while his teammate Christian Mansell bumped himself up to second, 0.258s off the fastest time.
PREMA hold a 1-2-3 lead by Mini, who set the new fastest lap with a 1:33.382s, 0.164s ahead of Lindblad.
A red flag was waved as Sebastián Montoya hit the barrier at the Variante Alta. It’s not how Montoya would have wanted to start his weekend in Imola.
Just before Montoya hit the barrier, Charlie Wurz of Jenzer Motorsport had gone fastest with a 1:33.268, with Tsolov just behind with a 1:33.272.
With 17 minutes left in the session, the drivers slowly made their way onto the track.
Keen to set their time, Jenzer driver Max Esterson briefly led the pack, until Luke Browning pushes him down, having gone fastest in the first two sectors. The Hitech driver set an impressive 1:32.367s, six-tenths ahead of Tsolov.
As the PREMA trio left the pit lane, both Campos drivers came in wanting to improve their times. Oliver Goethe and Mari Boya started out in second and sixth but improved to first with a 1:32.047, over three-tenths ahead of Browning. His teammate, just half a second behind in third.
The session was struck with another red flag, with just five minutes left, as Piotr Wisnicki ended up in the barrier at Piratella.
The session was not resumed, meaning Goethe finished with the fastest time, ahead of Browning and Boya.
