Klaas van Snelheid has started the title fight on the front foot in Brazil, by topping practice as he looks to overturn the 23 point-gap to his team mate Nathaniel Powers. The Dutchman needs to win the race with Powers tenth or lower to have any chance of the title. While this likely relies on his team mate encountering issues, van Snelheid will be pleased to be in the position he needs to be after a strong first day. Adrien Simon was just under a tenth back in second place, though the Frenchman will be keen to go one better both tomorrow and Sunday as he looks to avoid this being his first ever season without a pole position or race victory. Alongside the two Downton contenders, Enrique Ruiz is also in the title fight. 18 points behind Powers, the home hero will need at least second place in Sunday's race, but wound up just third fastest after the first days running. Championship leader himself Powers was only fourth - over a tenth and half back from Ruiz - but still comfortably clear of the FIRST duo and the remainder of the midfield. A top six result for Powers will secure him the title regardless. Jean Mattson was the best of the rest in seventh as he looks to end a topsy-turvy season on a high, while Marcus Thunder and Lucas' end of season resurgence continued, the British driver posting the eighth fastest time on the track he took his first and only win at back in 2015. Karl Beckenbauer was ninth for Westwood, indicating the team look in a strong position to secure seventh in the Constructors battle, while Allar Kangur rounded out the top ten for Lopez, as the Swiss outfit - who won the opening race - look to take only their second points finish since the German V-Prix. Sergio Alvarez and Hunter Ryan put Phoenix and Ocelot on the fringes of the top ten - the two teams are also in the battle with Westwood for seventh and not giving up without a fight - though the Manchester based team have replaced Thierry Xylander with reserve James Thompson for this weekend. The Brit was only around three tenths down on Alvarez, but due to the nature of the pack, that amounted to some eleven positions. Maximilian Thunstrom had his final practice in the Lucas before making his debut as a race driver for the team next year - placing a respectable thirteenth ahead of James Vasquez, while a strong run from Franklin's Nick Addison saw him ahead of Puccio Giodano. North Star endured a difficult day languishing in 19th and 21st, while the second of the replacement drivers this weekend - Diego Campos, running in place of Tumo Kinnumen at Cheema - was 23rd. The Irish team appeared to have reasonable pace over their fellow Q1 teams, and with Arrow automatically failing to qualify after missing the strategy deadline, they will likely be confident of having two cars in their swansong race before becoming Highwind in 2021. AMR likewise will fancy their chances of getting both cars onto the grid for the first time this season, as the Meteor duo ended up some half a second back from the rest of the field. See below for full practice classification:
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