Kazim Vasiliauskas sets early FPA pace

Lithuanian goes fastest in practice session at Brands Hatch

Kazim Vasiliauskas has set the early season pace by clocking the fastest time in the opening Formula Palmer Audi practice session at Brands Hatch.

The Lithuanian was consistently at the top of the timesheets throughout the 30-minute session, although he was pushed all the way by a hard charging Adam Foster. Bedfordshire driver Foster was seen sideways on more than one occasion with a great show of car control most notably through Surtees and Westfield Bend.

Tristan Vautier, Richard Plant and Josef Newgarden were more than a second behind the leading pair in third, fourth and fifth respectively. Frenchman Vautier set his fastest time on his last tour of the legendary Grand Prix circuit, as did American Josef Newgarden who was experiencing slicks and wings racing for the first time in his career.

Jose Alonso improved throughout the session, setting the the sixth fastest time in the final minute and series returnee Paul Rees was just 0.042s behind the Spaniard in seventh. Maxime Jousse rounded out the top eight.

Ashley Babbra was ninth ahead of Kenny Andrews who almost traded paint with Newgarden during a mid-session battle for track space. Emma Kimilainen narrowly missed out on the top ten on her FPA debut, setting an impressive lap to push Mark Powell down to 12th.

David Rotar and Julien Gerbi both had a difficult time with their sessions ending early - Rotar suffered damage to the right front corner of his car, whilst Gerbi went off on the run to Stirling's Bend. Neither driver was able to set a flying lap. Luca Orlandi and Maria de Villota also endured interesting moments, with Orlandi running on the grass through Surtees' and de Villota losing getting loose at Paddock Hill Bend.

The 22 cars will be back on track for the opening qualifying session of the season at 12:05 today (01/05). Keep visiting the official website for regular updates.

Formula Palmer Audi Championship, free practice session one, results:

1. Kazim Vasiliauskas, 1:23.863
2. Adam Foster, +0.270s
3. Tristan Vautier, +1.326s
4. Richard Plant, +1.377s
5. Josef Newgarden, +1.681s
6. Jose Alonso, +1.759s
7. Paul Rees, +1.801s
8. Maxime Jousse, +1.922s
9. Ashley Babbra, +2.032s
10. Kenny Andrews, +2.554s

For more news about the Formula Palmer Audi championship click on the link below.