PRACTICE: Aron leads the way in Imola for Hitech Pulse-Eight

Hitech Pulse-Eight driver Paul Aron was the fastest of all during the Imola Free Practice session, setting a time of 1:28.852 to top the timesheets. He finished ahead of Invicta Racing’s Gabriel Bortoleto and Rodin Motorsport’s Zane Maloney.

It was a busy start to the session as Trident’s Roman Stanek set the early pace, completing a lap of 1:30.784 to lead Campos Racing’s Isack Hadjar by just 0.028s.

The Frenchman then lowered the time to beat to a 1:29.805, edging out his nearest rival in Invicta Racing’s Kush Maini by just 0.040s.

The fastest time continued to change hands and Dennis Hauger was the next driver to top the leaderboard. His lap of 1:29.539 put him clear of Championship leader Maloney by 0.088s.

Then came the second Invicta car of Bortoleto and he set a 1:29.423 to take top spot. His next effort was a 1:28.923, putting him half a second clear of Hadjar in P2.

As the session entered its final stages, Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Paul Aron eclipsed Bortoleto’s time by 0.071s to take top spot, before Maloney crossed the line to go up to third.

There was a late Red Flag waved after PREMA Racing’s Oliver Bearman crashed into the barrier at the exit of Turn 4, and with little time remaining, the session was not restarted.

The drivers will be out on track for Qualifying later today at 16:00 local time.