Series Leader Marta Garcia Heads The Field in Italy

Marta García set the fastest time across both Free Practice sessions at Round 5 in Monza as the Spaniard looks to distance herself from her nearest rivals at the top of the Drivers’ standings, Hamda Al Qubaisi and Léna Bühler.

Free Practice 1

On the hunt for her first win, Rodin Carlin’s Abbi Pulling was the early pace setter in FP1 at Monza. The Brit will be looking to start on pole position for the first time in her F1 Academy career with a good performance in qualifying tomorrow.

A brief red flag was thrown after MP Motorsport’s H. Al Qubaisi went into the gravel, but action got back underway swiftly. With the top eight split by only a second, it would be Bühler who would eventually take the top spot with a 1:54.628, narrowly besting Pulling by just 0.055s.

Free Practice 2

Again Pulling was at the top of the timesheets early on in the session as she continued to show pace in her #10 Rodin Carlin car. The Brit’s final time of a 1:53.402 was less than a tenth behind García, who would purple both Sector 1 and 2 on her way to her time of a 1:53.371.

Pulling’s Rodin Carlin teammate Megan Gilkes put in a flying lap as the chequered flag fell, taking P3 in FP2 just 0.5s off the top spot. Meanwhile, Jessica Edgar’s P5 finish meant it was three Rodin Carlin drivers in the top five, a first for the British team this season.

Rodin Carlin’s Megan Gilkes said:

“It’s been good today; we’ve definitely made some big steps forward throughout the day and since Zandvoort. I am really happy with where the car is at the moment and the team at Rodin Carlin are doing a great job. I’m looking forward to doing the same again and maybe even two places better in Qualifying tomorrow.”

What’s Next

With Free Practice coming to a close, Saturday is filled with action as the drivers take to the track for two early morning Qualifying sessions at 09:00AM before Race 1 gets underway at 12:55.