Elite Motorsport’s McKenzy Cresswell set the fastest GB3 lap of the day in the final session of the first day of the official media day test at Donington Park.
The returning driver set a 1m22.623s inside the final few minutes of testing, to beat the qualifying lap record by over a tenth of a second.
Despite the impressive pace, Cresswell was just 0.040s quicker than the VRD Racing by Arden car of Shawn Rashid.
Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Tymek Kucharczyk was third fastest at the end of the day, just under a tenth further back, and 0.059s quicker than the lead JHR Developments car of John Bennett, who was the session two pace setter.
Reigning British F4 champion Louis Sharp, who had topped session three earlier this afternoon, was fifth overall for Rodin Motorsport, 0.313s away from top spot and less than half a tenth clear of Freddie Slater, who was testing the car that will be driven at the start of the season by Ugo Ugochukwu.
Sharp’s F4 rival Will Macintyre, fastest in session one, was seventh quickest overall for Hitech Pulse-Eight, just 0.003s behind Slater and 0.087s clear of the second VRD by Arden car of series returnee Noah Ping.
Ping’s teammate Nikita Johnson was ninth, 0.012s ahead of the third Hitech car of Gerrard Xie, who completed the top-10.
Just 0.511s covered the top-10, with Hillspeed just missing out on a place inside the top-10 courtesy of Daniel Guinchard, who is continuing to evaluate his options during the pre-season campaign.
In all, the top-16 drivers were covered by under a second at the end of the first day of testing, with just over two seconds separating the 22-car field. Each driver recorded their best lap times in the final session.
Testing resumes tomorrow at Donington Park, with four 30-minute sessions.
GB3 Championship, partnered by the BRDC, Donington Park testing day one combined result:
1. McKenzy Cresswell, Elite Motorsport, 1m22.623s
2. Shawn Rashid, VRD Racing by Arden, +0.040s
3. Tymek Kucharczyk, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.137s
4. John Bennett, JHR Developments, +0.196s
5. Louis Sharp, Rodin Motorsport, +0.313s
6. Freddie Slater, Rodin Motorsport, +0.354s
7. Will Macintyre, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.357s
8. Noah Ping, VRD Racing by Arden, +0.444s
9. Nikita Johnson, VRD Racing by Arden, +0.499s
10. Gerrard Xie, Hitech Pulse-Eight, +0.511s
11. Daniel Guinchard, Hillspeed, +0.514s
12. Jarrod Waberski, Elite Motorsport, +0.523s
13. Edward Pearson, Fortec Motorsport, +0.639s
14. Patrick Heuzenroeder, JHR Developments, +0.713s
15. Flynn Jackes, Chris Dittmann Racing, +0.970s
16. Hugo Schwarze, Elite Motorsport, +0.996s
17. Josh Irfan, JHR Developments, +1.026s
18. Nikolas Taylor, Hillspeed, +1.037s
19. James Hedley, Chris Dittmann Racing, +1.168s
20. Colin Queen, Fortec Motorsport, +1.234s
21. Arthur Rogeon, Rodin Motorsport, +1.325s
22. Seb Murray, Chris Dittmann Racing, +2.021s