GP2 Series

Barcelona GP2 test day two: d’Ambrosio breaks Maldonado domination

3 Mins read

DAMS Racer Jerome d'Ambrosio finished the second day of the final GP2 pre-season test on top having set the day's fastest time during the morning session.

As in previous years, the best time to set a day topping time at Barcelona is during the morning, something which Belgium racer d'Ambrosio did amid chaos on track with the session stopped seven times in three hours.

The order of the red flags was as follows:

  1. Jules Bianchi at turn four nine minutes in.
  2. Adrian Zaugg
  3. Vladimir Arabadzhiev spun at turn seven on the two hour mark.
  4. Dani Clos, twenty minutes after Arabadzhiev. Stopped near turn five.
  5. Rodolfo Gonzalez lost control at turn six.
  6. Giacomo Ricci six minutes after Gonzalez. Spun at turn five.
  7. Max Chilton stopped at turn four.

In between all of the stoppages to recover the stricken GP2 machinery, d'Ambrosio set the session topping time of 1:27.182s, beating the flying German rookie Christian Vietoris and form driver Pastor Maldonado.

Ocean Racing Technology saw their Swiss driver Fabio Leimer set the fourth fastest time of the session, ahead of Bianchi, Sam Bird and Clos. Brazilian Luiz Razia finished the morning in eighth, ahead of Ricci and Charles Pic.

Morning session results:

Position Name Nationality Team Time AM
1 Jerome D’Ambrosio BEL DAMS 1:27.182s
2 Christian Vietoris GER Racing Engineering 1:27.262s
3 Pastor Maldonado VEN Rapax 1:27.296s
4 Fabio Leimer SUI Ocean Racing Technology 1:27.402s
5 Jules Bianchi FRA ART Grand Prix 1:27.471s
6 Sam Bird GBR ART Grand Prix 1:27.539s
7 Dani Clos ESP Racing Engineering 1:27.603s
8 Luiz Razia BRA Rapax 1:27.635s
9 Giacomo Ricci ITA DPR 1:27.671s
10 Charles Pic FRA Arden International 1:27.845s
11 Davide Valsecchi ITA iSport International 1:27.903s
12 Oliver Turvey GBR iSport International 1:27.910s
13 Giedo Van Der Garde NED Barwa Addax Team 1:27.979s
14 Alberto Valerio BRA Scuderia Coloni 1:28.048s
15 Josef Kral CZE Super Nova Racing 1:28.241s
16 Adrian Zaugg RSA Trident Racing 1:28.408s
17 Sergio Perez MEX Barwa Addax Team 1:28.443s
18 Michael Herck ROU DPR 1:28.446s
19 Marcus Ericsson SWE Super Nova Racing 1:28.537s
20 Vladimir Arabadzhiev BUL Scuderia Coloni 1:28.642s
21 Johnny Cecotto VEN Trident Racing 1:28.687s
22 Ho-Pin Tung CHN DAMS 1:28.964s
23 Rodolfo Gonzalez VEN Arden International 1:29.001s
24 Max Chilton GBR Ocean Racing Technology 1:29.288s

The afternoon session calmed down and only saw one red flag for Marcus Ericsson who collided with the barriers at the chicane and had to sit out the rest of the session.

On track, Ocean Racing Technology had their driver Leimer top of the timings until the final ten minutes, when the times started to tumble and Pastor Maldonado continued his impressive run of topping afternoon sessions – this was his fifth afternoon on the trot that the Rapax driver topped.

Behind Maldonado, Belgian d'Ambrosio finished the day four hundreds of a second slower than the Venezuelan driver, with Leimer confirming his strong day with the third fastest time of the session.

Sergio Perez finished the afternoon with the fourth fastest time, ahead of the inform Vietoris, Razia, Davide Valsecchi, Pic, Clos and Valsecchi's iSport International team mate, Oliver Turvey.

Afternoon session times:

Position Name Nationality Team Time PM
1 Pastor Maldonado VEN Rapax 1:27.539s
2 Jerome D’Ambrosio BEL DAMS 1:27.586s
3 Fabio Leimer SUI Ocean Racing Technology 1:27.628s
4 Sergio Perez MEX Barwa Addax Team 1:27.697s
5 Christian Vietoris GER Racing Engineering 1:27.747s
6 Luiz Razia BRA Rapax 1:28.034s
7 Davide Valsecchi ITA iSport International 1:28.054s
8 Charles Pic FRA Arden International 1:28.068s
9 Dani Clos ESP Racing Engineering 1:28.104s
10 Oliver Turvey GBR iSport International 1:28.124s
11 Josef Kral CZE Super Nova Racing 1:28.465s
12 Michael Herck ROU DPR 1:28.466s
13 Giacomo Ricci ITA DPR 1:28.532s
14 Rodolfo Gonzalez VEN Arden International 1:28.586s
15 Alberto Valerio BRA Scuderia Coloni 1:28.589s
16 Adrian Zaugg RSA Trident Racing 1:28.783s
17 Johnny Cecotto VEN Trident Racing 1:29.003s
18 Giedo Van Der Garde NED Barwa Addax Team 1:29.035s
19 Ho-Pin Tung CHN DAMS 1:29.422s
20 Max Chilton GBR Ocean Racing Technology 1:29.501s
21 Sam Bird GBR ART Grand Prix 1:29.590s
22 Marcus Ericsson SWE Super Nova Racing 1:29.770s
23 Vladimir Arabadzhiev BUL Scuderia Coloni 1:30.011s
24 Jules Bianchi FRA ART Grand Prix 1:30.279s

Photo credit: Alastair Staley/GP2 Media Service

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