Kral sets pace in GP2 practice
Arden's Josef Kral was the pacesetter in free practice for the opening GP2 Asia round in Abu Dhabi
In the first official session for the new-generation GP2 cars, Kral set an early 1m37.788s to lead the way, and although iSport's Sam Bird briefly deposed him, the Czech driver responded with a 1m37.020s to cement his place at the head of the order.
The new AirAsia squad continued its strong form from testing to take second with Davide Valsecchi, 0.3 seconds slower than Kral.
ART's Jules Bianchi and DAMS' Romain Grosjean were next up, pushing Bird back to fifth. Top rookie was ART's Esteban Gutierrez in sixth.
The half-hour session passed without incident or accident. Qualifying takes place late this afternoon local time, ahead of the first round of the championship on Friday.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Josef Kral Arden 1m37.020s 2. Davide Valsecchi AirAsia 1m37.319s + 0.299s 3. Jules Bianchi ART 1m37.408s + 0.388s 4. Romain Grosjean DAMS 1m37.578s + 0.558s 5. Sam Bird iSport 1m37.601s + 0.581s 6. Esteban Gutierrez ART 1m37.602s + 0.582s 7. Michael Herck Coloni 1m37.711s + 0.691s 8. Stefano Coletti Trident 1m37.742s + 0.722s 9. Charles Pic Addax 1m37.789s + 0.769s 10. Max Chilton Carlin 1m37.798s + 0.778s 11. Fabio Leimer Rapax 1m37.860s + 0.840s 12. Luiz Razia AirAsia 1m37.864s + 0.844s 13. Johnny Cecotto Super Nova 1m37.949s + 0.929s 14. Jolyon Palmer Arden 1m37.972s + 0.952s 15. Marcus Ericsson iSport 1m38.010s + 0.990s 16. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1m38.016s + 0.996s 17. Giedo van der Garde Addax 1m38.060s + 1.040s 18. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1m38.134s + 1.114s 19. Oliver Turvey Ocean 1m38.160s + 1.140s 20. Rodolfo Gonzalez Trident 1m38.200s + 1.180s 21. Nathanael Berthon Racing Engineering 1m38.251s + 1.231s 22. Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova 1m38.446s + 1.426s 23. Pal Varhaug DAMS 1m38.571s + 1.551s 24. Julian Leal Rapax 1m38.574s + 1.554s 25. James Jakes Coloni 1m38.580s + 1.560s 26. Andrea Caldarelli Ocean 1m39.042s + 2.022s
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