Aaro Vainio marked himself out as one to watch this season as he recorded the best time of the second day of the opening GP3 Series pre-season test at Estoril.
The Finnish driver put himself at the top of the timesheets just 30 minutes into the morning session behind the wheel of his Lotus GP car, and held that position until the end of the three hour session.
Tio Ellinas was second quickest for Marussia Manor Racing, just over a tenth behind Vainio. Local ace Antonio Felix da Costa was just behind Ellinas in third for Carlin, with Mitch Evans fourth for MW Arden.
Conor Daly (Lotus) and Tamas Pal Kiss (Atech CRS) completed the top six, ahead of the Jenzer duo of Patric Niederhauser and Matheo Tuscher. Daniel Abt and Robert Visoiu rounded out the top ten for Lotus and Jenzer respectively.
After Vainio's performance in the morning it was down to two of his compatriots to dominate for much of the afternoon running, with Marussia Manor's Matias Laine heading the timesheets and Miki Weckstrom of Status in second place. Ellinas took top spot from teammate Laine within the final hour and finished the day there – but he was four tenths adrift of Vainio's morning benchmark.
Niederhauser moved up to second place, more than three tenths away from Ellinas. Felix da Costa took third with Marlon Stockinger in fourth for Status, demoting Laine down as far as fifth place. Pal Kiss was sixth, with Weckstrom seventh and the Arden duo of David Fumanelli and Evans in eighth and ninth. Day 1 pacesetter Nico Muller completed the top ten, having switched from Trident to Tech 1.
GP3 testing will resume at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain on 12-13 March.
Morning session
Pos | Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps |
1. | Aaro Vainio | Lotus GP | 1:30,466 | 30 |
2. | Tio Ellinas | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:30,573 | 24 |
3. | Antonio Felix da Costa | Carlin | 1:30,610 | 41 |
4. | Mitch Evans | MW Arden | 1:30,810 | 34 |
5. | Conor Daly | Lotus GP | 1:30,855 | 34 |
6. | Tamás Pál Kiss | Atech CRS GP | 1:30,936 | 29 |
7. | Patric Niederhauser | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:30,985 | 38 |
8. | Mathéo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:31,036 | 36 |
9. | Daniel Abt | Lotus GP | 1:31,055 | 39 |
10. | Robert Visoiu | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:31,314 | 33 |
11. | Dmitry Suranovich | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:31,382 | 34 |
12. | Fabiano Machado | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:31,491 | 27 |
13. | David Fumanelli | MW Arden | 1:31,527 | 22 |
14. | Nico Müller | Tech 1 Racing | 1:31,570 | 41 |
15. | William Buller | Carlin | 1:31,597 | 36 |
16. | Matias Laine | MW Arden | 1:31,857 | 18 |
17. | Marlon Stockinger | Status Grand Prix | 1:31,908 | 29 |
18. | Alex Brundle | Carlin | 1:32.001 | 52 |
19. | Miki Weckstrom | Status Grand Prix | 1:32,014 | 28 |
20. | Yuki Shiraishi | Trident Racing | 1:32,307 | 39 |
21. | Antonio Spavone | Trident Racing | 1:32,446 | 35 |
22. | Ethan Ringel | Atech CRS GP | 1:32,466 | 28 |
23. | Robert Cregan | Tech 1 Racing | 1:32,594 | 23 |
24. | Vicky Piria | Trident Racing | 1:32,932 | 31 |
25. | Nil Montserrat | Status Grand Prix | 1:37,132 | 21 |
Afternoon session
Pos | Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps |
1. | Tio Ellinas | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:30,862 | 31 |
2. | Patric Niederhauser | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:31,189 | 32 |
3. | Antonio Felix Da Costa | Carlin | 1:31,225 | 26 |
4. | Marlon Stockinger | Status Grand Prix | 1:31,298 | 29 |
5. | Matias Laine | MW Arden | 1:31,421 | 31 |
6. | Tamás Pál Kiss | Atech CRS GP | 1:31,514 | 21 |
7. | Miki Weckstrom | Status Grand Prix | 1:31,539 | 26 |
8. | David Fumanelli | MW Arden | 1:31,578 | 30 |
9. | Mitch Evans | MW Arden | 1:31,773 | 29 |
10. | Nico Müller | Tech 1 Racing | 1:31,904 | 28 |
11. | Dmitry Suranoch | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:32,063 | 32 |
12. | Mathéo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:32,177 | 39 |
13. | Alex Brundle | Carlin | 1:32,245 | 52 |
14. | Robert Visoiu | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:32,257 | 31 |
15. | Nil Montserrat | Status Grand Prix | 1:32,357 | 35 |
16. | William Buller | Carlin | 1:32,476 | 41 |
17. | Aaro Vainio | Lotus GP | 1:32,523 | 28 |
18. | Ethan Ringel | Atech CRS GP | 1:32,638 | 24 |
19. | Antonio Spavone | Trident Racing | 1:32,644 | 38 |
20. | Conor Daly | Lotus GP | 1:33,041 | 37 |
21. | Yuki Shiraishi | Trident Racing | 1:33,099 | 45 |
22. | Vicky Piria | Trident Racing | 1:33,208 | 33 |
23. | Fabiano Machado | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:33,258 | 30 |
24. | Daniel Abt | Lotus GP | 1:33,306 | 37 |
25. | Robert Cregan | Tech 1 Racing | 1:33,607 | 23 |