More praise for new Auto GP car
The revised Auto GP car received a favourable reaction from drivers during its second day of testing at the Circuit de Catalunya on Friday
The new model was driven by reigning Auto GP champion Adrian Quaife-Hobbs and former Formula Renault 3.5 racer Vittorio Ghirelli at the final post-season test.
The car was reported to have completed 60 laps without issue, and recorded a time 1.1 seconds faster than the outgoing 2012 machines in the first session, although that gap was smaller in the second.
"I have to thank Auto GP for bringing me here to cover a key role as the test driver for this new car," said Quaife-Hobbs. "In the last couple of days we tried different configurations and analysed a lot of data. We made huge steps forward and the laptimes clearly confirm that improvement."
The Briton's positive feedback was echoed by Ghirelli.
"I had the chance to drive the new Auto GP racer in the last session," said Ghirelli. "It's a really demanding car, but it's also great for learning. This season I raced in the Formula [Renault] 3.5 series, and compared to that car I have to admit that the new Auto GP one left me positively impressed and surprised.
"It's really demanding to drive and enables the driver's skills to make the difference. It also has better grip and great room for further improvement."
McLaren AUTOSPORT BRDC Award finalist Jordan King was fastest among the drivers in 2012 machinery. The 18-year-old, Formula Renault 2.0 NEC runner-up, set a quickest time of 1m34.083s on his maiden Auto GP run with Manor MP Motorsport.
Fellow Auto GP newcomer Kevin Giovesi was second with former leading Italian Formula 3 outfit Team Ghinzani. Thursday pacesetter Ghirelli confined his running to the morning session for Super Nova and took third, ahead of this season's Marrakech Auto GP winner Sergio Campana at Zele Racing.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Auto GP 2013 1m33.676s 2. Jordan King Manor MP 1m34.083s + 0.407s 3. Vittorio Ghirelli Auto GP 2013 1m34.191s + 0.515s 4. Kevin Giovesi Ghinzani 1m34.580s + 0.904s 5. Vittorio Ghirelli Super Nova 1m34.799s + 1.123s 6. Sergio Campana Zele 1m34.823s + 1.147s 7. Daniel de Jong Manor MP 1m34.881s + 1.205s 8. Antonio Spavone Super Nova 1m35.079s + 1.403s 9. Andrea Roda Virtuosi UK 1m35.468s + 1.792s 10. Giacomo Ricci MLR 71 1m35.728s + 2.052s 11. Kotaro Sakurai Euronova 1m35.736s + 2.060s 12. Yoshitaka Kuroda Euronova 1m36.046s + 2.370s 13. Luca Defendi Ombra 1m36.678s + 3.002s 14. Giuseppe Cipriani Zele 1m37.103s + 3.427s 15. Michele la Rosa MLR 71 1m39.727s + 6.051s
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