Garcia tops first FR3.5 test session
Spanish rookie Victor Garcia set the fastest time in the opening session of 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 collective testing at Barcelona this morning
Competing with debutant team KMP Racing, Garcia recorded a best time of 1m34.455s. Nathanael Berthon ended the morning as Garcia's closest challenger, 0.195s adrift. The French Formula Renault 2.0 graduate replaces outgoing champion Bertrand Baguette at Draco Racing.
Fresh from a GP2 Asia outing at the weekend with Rapax, Italian Formula 3 champion Daniel Zampieri recorded the third fastest time with Pons Racing.
Comtec put on a strong showing over the opening hour as Monegasque Stefano Coletti briefly led team-mate Greg Mansell at the top of the timing screens. Series returnee Mansell was bumped down to an eventual fourth, two spots ahead of former Formula 3 Euro Series and GP2 racer Coletti.
The Norfolk-based squad's pairing sandwiched Lotus Junior driver Nelson Panciatici, whose 1m34.879s was sufficient for fifth fastest.
Having run HRT Formula 1 driver Karun Chandhok in private testing at Valencia last week, Czech team ISR fielded a second car for reigning Euro F3 Open champion Bruno Mendez alongside Filip Salaquarda.
Mendez's compatriot, and former Euro F3 Open rival, Sergio Canamasas was 23rd fastest for Fortec Motorsport. Richard Dutton's team has confirmed that Estonian Sten Pentus will remain on board for a second season.
Austrian outfit Interwetten was the only absentee, leaving just 24 cars present. The test concludes tomorrow.Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Victor Garcia KMP 1m34.455s 33
2. Nathanael Berthon Draco 1m34.650s + 0.195s 36
3. Daniel Zampieri Pons 1m34.732s + 0.277s 28
4. Greg Mansell Comtec 1m34.871s + 0.416s 36
5. Nelson Panciatici Lotus Junior 1m34.879s + 0.424s 32
6. Stefano Coletti Comtec 1m34.938s + 0.483s 27
7. Federico Leo Pons 1m34.951s + 0.496s 44
8. Anton Nebylitskyi KMP 1m35.199s + 0.744s 34
9. Jan Charouz P1 1m35.268s + 0.813s 44
10. Daniel Ricciardo Tech 1 1m35.460s + 1.005s 17
11. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1m35.612s + 1.157s 43
12. Walter Grubmuller P1 1m35.832s + 1.377s 46
13. Brendon Hartley Tech 1 1m35.941s + 1.486s 18
14. Jake Rosenzweig Carlin 1m36.025s + 1.570s 41
15. Marcos Martinez SG 1m36.100s + 1.645s 27
16. Jean Eric Vergne SG 1m36.127s + 1.672s 23
17. Bruno Mendez ISR 1m36.173s + 1.718s 35
18. Keisuke Kunimoto Epsilon-Euskadi 1m36.241s + 1.786s 28
19. Julian Leal Draco 1m36.329s + 1.874s 49
20. Albert Costa Epsilon-Euskadi 1m36.412s + 1.957s 27
21. Sten Pentus Fortec 1m36.930s + 2.475s 27
22. Daniil Move Lotus Junior 1m37.635s + 3.180s 21
23. Sergio Canamasas Fortec 1m38.822s + 4.367s 42
24. Filip Salaquarda ISR 1m39.659s + 5.204s 19
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