Davide Valsecchi topped the times on the first day of the final preseason test at Barcelona, ahead of the start of the GP2 Series season in Turkey.
The Team AirAsia driver finished as second quickest in the morning session but then raised his pace in the afternoon, finishing the day on top with a best time of 1m29.718s on a sunny day at the Circuit de Catalunya.
In a very close session, Luca Filippi was second fastest for Super Nova, the Italian just 0.025sec behind Valsecchi, with Charles Pic – fastest in the morning – less than two tenths behind in the Barwa car.
Lotus ART's Jules Bianchi and Esteban Gutierrez were the only other two men to lap the Spanish track in the 1m29s, with GP2 Asia champion Roman Grosjean completing the top five for DAMS. Two red flags in the afternoon session interrupted the work of the teams during a mostly trouble-free day.
The test concludes tomorrow.
Morning times
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Charles Pic Barwa Addax Team 1:29.875 31
2. Davide Valsecchi Team AirAsia 1:29.915 23
3. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus ART 1:29.976 25
4. Romain Grosjean Dams 1:30.051 19
5. Sam Bird iSport International 1:30.059 23
6. Max Chilton Carlin 1:30.183 25
7. Jolyon Palmer Arden International 1:30.228 27
8. Davide Rigon Scuderia Coloni 1:30.347 21
9. Luiz Razia Team AirAsia 1:30.364 24
10. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax Team 1:30.430 19
11. Jules Bianchi Lotus ART 1:30.450 29
12. Oliver Turvey Carlin 1:30.623 21
13. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni 1:30.671 19
14. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:30.760 24
15. Johnny Cecotto Ocean Racing Technology 1:30.857 22
16. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering 1:30.866 26
17. Fabio Leimer Rapax 1:30.900 25
18. Stefano Coletti Trident Racing 1:30.924 19
19. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:30.959 18
20. Julian Leal Rapax 1:30.982 26
21. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:31.070 27
22. Josef Kral Arden International 1:31.263 17
23. Pal Varhaug Dams 1:31.322 20
24. Kevin Mirocha Ocean Racing Technology 1:31.531 21
25. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident Racing 1:31.854 21
26. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova Racing 1:32.162 18
Afternoon times
Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Davide Valsecchi Team AirAsia 1:29.718 23
2. Luca Filippi Super Nova Racing 1:29.743 19
3. Jules Bianchi Lotus ART 1:29.912 18
4. Michael Herck Scuderia Coloni 1:30.262 28
5. Romain Grosjean Dams 1:30.371 25
6. Esteban Gutierrez Lotus ART 1:30.402 14
7. Luiz Razia Team AirAsia 1:30.544 28
8. Max Chilton Carlin 1:30.602 18
9. Marcus Ericsson iSport International 1:30.780 21
10. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering 1:30.807 19
11. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax Team 1:30.825 23
12. Pal Varhaug Dams 1:30.956 28
13. Oliver Turvey Carlin 1:30.956 23
14. Stefano Coletti Trident Racing 1:30.964 19
15. Jolyon Palmer Arden International 1:30.982 25
16. Julian Leal Rapax 1:31.125 20
17. Johnny Cecotto Ocean Racing Engineering 1:31.248 20
18. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident Racing 1:31.252 20
19. Kevin Mirocha Ocean Racing Engineering 1:31.311 20
20. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:31.342 19
21. Fabio Leimer Rapax 1:31.639 19
22. Sam Bird iSport International 1:31.766 29
23. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova Racing 1:31.921 31
24. Josef Kral Arden International 1:32.366 25
25. Davide Rigon Scuderia Coloni 1:32.900 13
26. Charles Pic Barwa Addax Team 1:33.747 35