Formula Renault 3.5

Frijns Maintains Supremacy On Day Two

2 Mins read
Robin Frijns topped the time sheets for the second day - Photo: Renault Sport Media

Robin Frijns topped the time sheets for the second day - Photo: Renault Sport Media

Robin Frijns remained the fastest driver on day two of pre-season testing in the new Formula Renault 3.5 car at Paul Ricard.

The reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion just edged out Tech 1's Jules Bianchi by two thousandths of a second, with Frijns' benchmark time more than a second faster than he had been on the opening day.

Frijns said: “We set off quite early this morning on fresh tyres, and we took advantage of the clear track to do the best we could.

“After the first few laps I felt comfortable in this car, which is perfectly suited to my driving style.”

In spite of the negligible margin ensuring Bianchi would not top the timesheets, he was in positive spirits after his first two days of running in FR3.5.

He said: “Everyone's first objective was to get used to the new car. It was also my first real session working with Tech 1 Racing, so it was important for us all to get started together.

“Compared to the cars I'm used to driving, with the exception of F1 cars, the aerodynamic load is pretty impressive and the car is great.”

Carlin's Kevin Magnussen took third, again by a similarly minute margin of just 0.023s ahead of Richie Stanaway's Lotus and the leading quartet were the only men to dip below the 1m46s mark.

“I'm really impressed by this new car,” said Magnussen.

“We haven't really had any major problems, which is always a danger when you use a car for the first time.

“I've been really blown away by the power and braking. We strung a number of laps together so that we could learn more.

Carlos Huertas was fifth fastest again in the sister Fortec car ahead of the triumvirate of Arthur Pic (DAMS), Walter Grubmuller (P1) and Sam Bird (ISR).

Despite setting identical times, Grubmuller finished the session ahead of Bird after setting his time earlier in the day.

Draco’s Andre Negrao and Lotus’s Marco Sorensen completed the top 10.

 

Day Two Times:
Pos Driver Team Time 
 1.  Robin Frijns          Fortec Motorsports       1m45.667s
 2.  Jules Bianchi         Tech 1 Racing            1m45.669s  + 0.002s
 3.  Kevin Magnussen       Carlin                   1m45.952s  + 0.285s
 4.  Richie Stanaway       Lotus                    1m45.975s  + 0.308s
 5.  Carlos Huertas        Fortec Motorsports       1m46.116s  + 0.449s
 6.  Arthur Pic            Dams                     1m46.128s  + 0.461s
 7.  Walter Grubmuller     P1 Motorsport            1m46.334s  + 0.667s
 8.  Sam Bird              Isr                      1m46.334s  + 0.667s
 9.  Andrè Negrao          International Draco      1m46.368s  + 0.701s
10.  Marco Sorensen        Lotus                    1m46.376s  + 0.709s
11.  Nick Yelloly          Comtec Racing            1m46.473s  + 0.806s
12.  Nico Muller           International Draco      1m46.561s  + 0.894s
13.  Daniil Move           P1 Motorsport            1m46.821s  + 1.154s
14.  Lucas Foresti         Dams                     1m46.922s  + 1.255s
15.  Alexander Rossi       Arden Caterham           1m46.931s  + 1.264s
16.  Kevin Korjus          Tech 1 Racing            1m46.944s  + 1.277s
17.  Vittorio Ghirelli     Comtec Racing            1m47.705s  + 2.038s
18.  Will Stevens          Carlin                   1m47.719s  + 2.052s
19.  Zoel Amberg           Pons Racing              1m47.724s  + 2.057s
20.  Anton Nebylitskiy     Team Rfr                 1m47.821s  + 2.154s
21.  Lewis Williamson      Arden Caterham           1m47.848s  + 2.181s
22.  Nicolay Martsenko     Bvm Target               1m47.912s  + 2.245s
23.  Jake Rosenzweig       Isr                      1m47.997s  + 2.330s
24.  Mikhail Aleshin       Team Rfr                 1m48.021s  + 2.354s
25.  Giovanni Venturini    Bvm Target               1m48.261s  + 2.594s
26.  Yann Cunha            Pons Racing              1m49.319s  + 3.652s
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