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Bianchi On Top As GP2 Pre-Season Testing Concludes

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Jules Bianchi set the fastest time on the fourth and final day of pre-season testing for GP2 Asia at Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit.

It was Bianchi's ART teammate Esteban Gutierrez who set the initial pace in the morning session, but Frenchman Bianchi soon took his place at the head of the timing screens. He improved that time further still to end the morning eight hundreds of a second quicker than nearest man to him Davide Valsecchi, of Team AirAsia. iSport teammates Sam Bird and Marcus Ericsson were third and fourth, with Gutierrez rounding out the top five.

In the afternoon session, many teams focussed on competing race simulations, which meant that nobody bettered Bianchi's benchmark time from the morning session. An early lap time from Dani Clos kept the Racing Engineering driver in first place for much of the session. In the final hour, Luiz Razia took first place from Clos, with his AirAsia teammate Valsecchi moving up into P2. The Italian went on to snatch top spot from Razia, before improving his time further on the next lap. Behind the AirAsia pairing, Bird and Ericsson were third and fourth quickest again for iSport, with Charles Pic fifth quickest for Addax.

 Morning Session

  Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Jules Bianchi Lotus ART 1:35.940 34
2. Davide Valsecchi Team AirAsia 1:36.025 37
3. Sam Bird iSport International 1:36.154 30
4. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:36.175 26
5. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus ART 1:36.366 30
6. Josef Kral Arden International 1:36.403 32
7. Max Chilton Carlin 1:36.413 24
8. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:36.430 23
9. Charles Pic Barwa Addax Team 1:36.491 37
10. Andrea Caldarelli Ocean Racing Technology 1:36.609 31
11. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax Team 1:36.613 26
12. Luiz Razia Team AirAsia 1:36.739 27
13. Jolyon Palmer Arden International 1:36.751 44
14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident Racing 1:36.771 26
15. Stefano Coletti Trident Racing 1:36.832 25
16. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni 1:36.835 19
17. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova Racing 1:36.914 28
18. Romain Grosjean Dams 1:36.983 28
19. Fabio Leimer Rapax 1:37.009 38
20. Julian Leal Rapax 1:37.055 35
21. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1:37.082 14
22. Oliver Turvey Ocean Racing Technology 1:37.244 24
23. James Jakes Scuderia Coloni 1:37.326 32
24. Johnny Cecotto Super Nova Racing 1:37.415 20
25. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:37.521 22
26. PÃ¥l Varhaug Dams 1:37.540 32

Afternoon Session

  Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Davide Valsecchi Team AirAsia 1:36.159 21
2. Luiz Razia Team AirAsia 1:36.172 31
3. Sam Bird iSport International 1:36.277 31
4. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:36.464 26
5. Charles Pic Barwa Addax Team 1:36.493 20
6. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident Racing 1:36.527 26
7. Josef Kral Arden International 1:36.541 35
8. Max Chilton Carlin 1:36.568 37
9. Stefano Coletti Trident Racing 1:36.575 24
10. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:36.619 38
11. Fabio Leimer Rapax 1:36.670 22
12. Julian Leal Rapax 1:36.700 25
13. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni 1:36.716 28
14. Johnny Cecotto Super Nova Racing 1:36.721 32
15. Andrea Caldarelli Ocean Racing Technology 1:36.727 35
16. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova Racing 1:36.845 24
17. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax Team 1:36.918 16
18. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1:37.054 24
19. Oliver Turvey Ocean Racing Technology 1:37.201 29
20. Romain Grosjean Dams 1:37.219 20
21. PÃ¥l Varhaug Dams 1:37.311 35
22. Jolyon Palmer Arden International 1:37.554 30
23. James Jakes Scuderia Coloni 1:37.632 14
24. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus ART 1:38.548 42
25. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1:38.683 24
26. Jules Bianchi Lotus ART 1:38.707 34
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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_
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