iSport drivers lead the way in Barcelona GP2 test

Marcus Ericson led the morning times for iSport

The final 2011 post-season testing opened today at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona. For this two-day session the twenty-six drivers are running on 2012 Pirelli P Zero hard compounds and were greeted this morning by sunny skies as the pitlane opened. GP3 graduate Tom Dillmann at iSport set the early pace, but as the track warmed up, newcomer Kevin Magnussen at Carlin improved the Frenchman’s laptime to top the timesheet. He was soon edged out by another GP3 graduate Nigel Melker at the wheel of an Ocean Racing Engineering car. At the half-way mark, experienced drivers took control of the trouble-free session with Dani Clos at Scuderia Coloni and Esteban Gutierrez at Lotus ART going top. Caterham Team AirAsia’s Alexander Rossi improved the Spaniard’s laptime by one tenth at mid-session, but it was race winner Marcus Ericsson who was the first driver to break the 1:30 barrier. The iSport man went top, four tenths quicker than the American. His laptime would remain unbeaten until the end of the morning session. Clos, Gutierrez, Kevin Ceccon, Melker, Dillmann, Julian Leal, Rossi, Magnussen and Jolyon Palmer completed the top 10.

Tom Dillmann led the afternoon session for iSport

Soon after the pitlane re-opened, Antonio Felix Da Costa set the pace for Barwa Addax and kept control of the timesheet for most of the session. With thirty minutes left on the clock, rookie Melker went top seconds before Ericsson moved to P2. In cooler temperatures, most drivers improved their personal best laptime and Dillmann went quickest, five tenths ahead of the Dutchman. A red flag interrupted everyone’s efforts in the final fifteen minutes when Dams’ Rio Haryanto went wide and stopped in the gravel bed, ending his day prematurely. At the re-start, Gutierrez found extra pace to edge Melker out of P2 while Rossi moved up to P4 ahead of Ceccon. At the checkered flag, Dillmann finished top ahead of Gutierrez, Melker and Rossi. They were followed by Felix Da Costa, Clos, rookies Craig Dolby and Roberto Merhi at Arden, and Ericsson. Ocean Racing’s Melker was today’s fastest rookie.

The testing will resume tomorrow at 9am local time.

Morning session

Pos Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:29.705 25
2. Dani Clos Scuderia Coloni 1:29.810 34
3. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus ART 1:29.911 24
4. Kevin Ceccon Scuderia Coloni 1:29.978 28
5. Nigel Melker Ocean Racing Technology 1:29.978 25
6. Tom Dillmann iSport International 1:30.025 26
7. Julian Leal Barwa Addax Team 1:30.084 23
8. Alexander Rossi Caterham Team AirAsia 1:30.140 18
9. Kevin Magnussen Carlin 1:30.158 22
10. Jolyon Palmer Barwa Addax Team 1:30.299 29
11. Max Chilton Carlin 1:30.399 24
12. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:30.416 29
13. Roberto Merhi Arden International 1:30.446 28
14. Josef Kral Trident Racing 1:30.453 21
15. Brendon Hartley Ocean Racing Technology 1:30.526 19
16. Rio Haryanto Dams 1:30.536 25
17. Antonio Felix Da Costa Lotus ART 1:30.798 29
18. Stefano Coletti Dams 1:30.880 25
19. Stéphane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:30.993 33
20. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Super Nova Racing 1:31.137 25
21. Luiz Razia Caterham Team AirAsia 1:31.176 22
22. Fabio Onidi Rapax 1:31.257 16
23. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:31.329 19
24. Jake Rosenzweig Scuderia Coloni 1:31.342 33
25. Pal Varhaug Rapax 1:31.443 37
26. Craig Dolby Arden International 1:31.891 23


Afternoon Session

Pos Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Tom Dillmann iSport International 1:30.210 35
2. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus ART 1:30.749 23
3. Nigel Melker Ocean Racing Technology 1:30.769 23
4. Alexander Rossi Caterham Team AirAsia 1:30.773 31
5. Kevin Ceccon Scuderia Coloni 1:30.774 28
6. Antonio Felix Da Costa Lotus ART 1:30.860 24
7. Dani Clos Scuderia Coloni 1:30.881 18
8. Craig Dolby Arden International 1:31.042 20
9. Roberto Merhi Arden International 1:31.061 23
10. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:31.113 29
11. Rio Haryanto Dams 1:31.178 28
12. Pal Varhaug Rapax 1:31.197 26
13. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:31.259 26
14. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:31.284 21
15. Stéphane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:31.307 30
16. Stefano Coletti Dams 1:31.328 27
17. Kevin Magnussen Carlin 1:31.351 20
18. Josef Kral Trident Racing 1:31.407 24
19. Luiz Razia Caterham Team AirAsia 1:31.520 28
20. Brendon Hartley Ocean Racing Technology 1:31.557 27
21. Jake Rosenzweig Super Nova Racing 1:31.586 22
22. Max Chilton Carlin 1:31.611 20
23. Julian Leal Barwa Addax Team 1:31.737 25
24. Adrian Quaif-Hobbs Super Nova Racing 1:32.056 26
25. Fabio Onidi Rapax 1:33.082 24
26. Jolyon Palmer Barwa Addax Team 1:34.427 31

Social Media Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com