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:
- Jules Bianchi at turn four nine minutes in.
- Adrian Zaugg
- Vladimir Arabadzhiev spun at turn seven on the two hour mark.
- Dani Clos, twenty minutes after Arabadzhiev. Stopped near turn five.
- Rodolfo Gonzalez lost control at turn six.
- Giacomo Ricci six minutes after Gonzalez. Spun at turn five.
- 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