GP2 Series

Valsecchi Remains On Top On Day 2 In Jerez

2 Mins read
Davide Valsecchi - Photo Credit: Daniel Kalisz/GP2 Media Service

Valsecchi went out on track and kept top spot - Photo Credit: Daniel Kalisz/GP2 Media Service

Davide Valsecchi continued his pacesetting start to his fifth GP2 Series campaign by remaining on top of the timesheets on day two of the pre-season test at Jerez.

The DAMS driver set a benchmark of 1m24.967s during the morning session, ending up more than four tenths clear of Lotus GP's Esteban Gutierrez at the lunch break. Max Chilton was a promising third fastest in the Marussia-liveried Carlin car ahead of Stefano Coletti for Coloni. iSport locked out fifth and sixth places, with Jolyon Palmer edging Marcus Ericsson by 0.015s.

Dani Clos took seventh for Rapax, ahead of Coloni's Fabio Onidi, James Calado of Lotus and Racing Engineering's Fabio Leimer. Giedo van der Garde was 11th fastest for Caterham, ahead of Stephane Richelmi of Trident, Valsecchi's teammate Felipe Nasr and Arden driver Simon Trummer.

Trummer's more experienced teammate Luiz Razia was just behind, ahead of Julian Leal, Tom Dillmann and Josef Kral. Rookie Vittorio Ghirelli put new team Lazarus in 19th place, with Rio Haryanto just ahead of the second Lazarus car of Fabrizio Crestani. Nathanael Berthon was 22nd ahead of the two Venezuelans Johnny Cecotto and Rodolfo Gonzalez, with Dutchmen Daniel De Jong and Nigel Melker propping up the timesheets – the latter having damaged his car in contact with the barrier and bringing a rather early end to his day.

The afternoon session saw the times somewhat slower, though Valsecchi again held P1 for much of the session. Van der Garde moved ahead with a 1m26.648s just before Leal brought out the red flags and with it a premature end to the day's running.  Leal had posted the third fastest time, ahead of Clos, Razia and Kral. Crestani was seventh, with Trummer and the Monegasque duo of Coletti and Richelmi rounding out the top ten.

For the final day of the test tomorrow, Kevin Ceccon will be in action for Ocean, replacing Dillmann who will be with Rapax instead of De Jong.

Morning session

  Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1:24.783 32
2. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus GP 1:25.193 30
3. Max Chilton Carlin 1:25.294 26
4. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni 1:25.358 29
5. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:25.359 24
6. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:25.374 27
7. Dani Clos Rapax 1:25.467 18
8. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:25.505 27
9. James Calado Lotus GP 1:25.569 25
10. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:25.845 29
11. Giedo van der Garde Caterham Racing 1:25.893 20
12. Stéphane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:25.903 39
13. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:26.006 33
14. Simon Trummer Arden International 1:26.017 35
15. Luiz Razia Arden International 1:26.049 38
16. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:26.128 27
17. Tom Dillmann Ocean Racing Technology 1:26.177 29
18. Josef Kral Barwa Addax Team 1:26.351 28
19. Vittorio Ghirelli Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:26.477 23
20. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1:26.545 30
21. Fabrizio Crestani Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:26.551 16
22. Nathanaël Berthon Racing Engineering 1:26.648 23
23. Johnny Cecotto Barwa Addax Team 1:26.665 18
24. Rodolgo Gonzalez Catheram Racing 1:26.707 32
25. Daniel de Jong Rapax 1:26.712 31
26. Nigel Melker Ocean Racing Technology 1:41.035 2

Afternoon Session

  Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Giedo van der Garde Caterham Racing 1:26.270 32
2. Davide Valsecchi DAMS 1:26.648 28
3. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:26.656 21
4. Dani Clos Rapax 1:26.838 18
5. Luiz Razia Arden International 1:26.931 28
6. Josef Kral Barwa Addax Team 1:27.002 28
7. Fabrizio Crestani Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:27.097 23
8. Simon Trummer Arden International 1:27.320 28
9. Stefano Coletti Scuderia Coloni 1:27.349 27
10. Stéphane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:27.451 21
11. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:27.496 33
12. Johnny Cecotto Barwa Addax Team 1:27.537 10
13. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:27.561 19
14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Caterham Racing 1:27.680 29
15. Daniel De Jong Rapax 1:27.801 18
16. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:28.398 36
17. Vittorio Ghirelli Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:28.639 24
18. Tom Dillmann Ocean Racing Technology 1:28.656 3
19. Max Chilton Carlin 1:28.999 35
20. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:29.146 41
21. Fabio Leimer Racing Engineering 1:29.449 22
22. Rio Haryanto Carlin 1:29.629 25
23. James Calado Lotus GP 1:29.847 47
24. Esteban Gutiérrez Lotus GP 1:29.866 35
25. Nathanaël Berthon Racing Engineering 1:30.547 26
1882 posts

About author
Peter joined the TCF team in September 2010 and covers GP2 and GP3 along with WTCC and Formula Two. You can find him on twitter at @PeteAllen_
Articles
Related posts
Formula 2GP2 Series

FIA announce GP2 re-branding as FIA Formula 2 Championship

1 Mins read
The FIA Formula 2 Championship has been born following the re-branding of the GP2 Series, starting with the 2017 season.
Formula 2GP2 Series

ART Grand Prix bring Albon into GP2 Series line-up

1 Mins read
Alexander Albon will make the jump from GP3 to GP2 in 2017, remaining with the ART Grand Prix squad he finished second with last season.
Formula 2GP2 Series

Ghiotto joins Markelov at Russian Time for 2017

1 Mins read
Luca Ghiotto will move from Trident to Russian Time in 2017, where he will join Artem Markelov.