Valencia GP3 test: Marvin Kirchhofer fastest for ART

The highest-placed championship returnee in the field after finishing third behind Alex Lynn and Dean Stoneman last year, Kirchhofer's 1m21.098s lap in the afternoon put him two tenths clear of Luca Ghiotto.

Italian Ghiotto is back for a full season with Trident having taken a shock pole on his GP3 debut at Spa in 2014 during a two-round cameo.

Teenage Spanish rookie Alex Palou (pictured below), a Euroformula Open graduate, showed strongly as he led the morning session and took fourth in the afternoon for Campos Racing's new GP3 arm.

Kirchhofer's European Formula 3 champion team-mate Esteban Ocon was in the top three in both sessions - second between Palou and Kirchhofer in the opener and then third later on.

Sportscar racer Kevin Korjus returned to his former GP3 team Koiranen to stand in for Adderly Fong, whose Lotus Formula 1 team role means he is at the Chinese Grand Prix this week.

Korjus completed the afternoon top five.

Campos had all three cars out for the first time, running Samin Gomez alongside the already-signed Palou and Zaid Ashkanani.

Gomez, who did a full GP3 season with Jenzer in 2013 before her '14 season was limited to a handful of Auto GP appearances, trailed the field in both sessions.

It was a low-key day for the Carlin team that took Lynn to last year's title.

Jann Mardenborough's morning seventh place was its only top 10 appearance.

MORNING TIMES:

AFTERNOON TIMES: