Carlin heads Snetterton pre-race testing.

The second round of the British Formula 3 Championship is being held this weekend at the Snetterton circuit in Norfolk and in ideal conditions this morning with brilliant sunshine, Carlin's Alan van der Merwe once again set the fastest time in the three hour test session in preparation for tomorrow's qualifying.

van der Merwe, who has headed the timesheets at the majority of the pre-season tests, qualified an unpredicted fifth fastest at the first round of the championship at Donington two weeks ago but goes into this weekend's race as the series leader having taken one race win and a second place in the results despite his team-mate and F3 rookie Jamie Green snatching two pole positions and two race wins on the road.

Green's first race win was the subject of a technical infringement and along with Carlin's Richard Antinucci, he was excluded from the results. The matter is however under appeal, so Alan van der Merwe needs two good, solid results this weekend to ensure that he holds on to his championship lead.

Antinucci again showed his superb form this morning finishing the session second quickest just two tenths of a second away from van der Merwe. Third fastest was Fortec's Robbie Dahlgren from Sweden in his Renault powered Dallara followed by the Opel powered car of Rob Austin.

Whilst the pre-race test session is seen as an important part of the weekend's running, the times themselves count for nothing and are only an indication of the possible outcome during the frantic 20 minute qualifying sessions.

Green spent the time concentrating on setting his car up for tomorrow's sessions when he hopes to repeat his remarkable achievement at round one with two more pole positions. Green ended the session fifth quickest followed home in sixth place by the fourth of the Carlin quartet, Denmark's Ronnie Bremer.

Bremer has a seemingly relaxed attitude to his racing but his experience and consistency at Donington set him fourth in the Championship just three points behind Green.

Of the four Carlin drivers, Antinucci has perhaps the most to gain this weekend. His disqualification in race one and a lowly finish after a spin at Donington netted him no points at all and he needs to turn today's front-row pace into good qualifying results tomorrow to give him the chance of maximum points for the second round.

During the morning session, Nelson Piquet junior who only competed in one of the Donington races due to a post qualifying infringement but finished a creditable third from second on the grid in race two, had a high speed spin and after repairs managed only one lap of the circuit before the final flag.

Ex-Carlin driver Michael Keohanne who showed himself as a serious threat at Donington with his Promatechme team also suffered an off-track excursion but unlike the young Brazilian, his car was too badly damaged to take any further part in the session.