Sergey Sirotkin tops first Auto GP practice session of 2012 at Monza
Sergey Sirotkin staged a last-lap flier to top the opening Auto GP World Series practice session of the year at Monza
The 16-year-old Euronova driver's time of 1m38.164s edged out Italian Formula 3 champion Sergio Campana, MLR71, by 0.269s. Both are making their series debuts this weekend.
Britain's Adrian Quaife-Hobbs led for much of the half-hour session. The Super Nova driver was eventually usurped by Campana with eight minutes remaining.
The former GP3 driver held on to finish in third sport, ahead of Zele Racing's GP2 race winner Giacomo Ricci.
The top six was rounded out by two South American graduates from Italian F3. Super Nova's Brazilian teenager Victor Guerin took fifth ahead of Campos Racing's Argentinian Facu Regalia.
Driver changes among the sixteen-car field from Monza's pre-season test last week include the addition of former Superleague frontrunner Chris van der Drift at Manor MP Motorsport. The Kiwi ended the morning 12th fastest, two spots behind another late signing, Vancouver-born Chinese racer Adderly Fong.
Ombra driver Fong steps up to Auto GP following three years in F3. Virtuosi UK's Matteo Beretta completed the 'newcomers'. The 17-year-old Italian recorded a podium in last year's European F3 Open.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap 1. Sergey Sirotkin Euronova 1m38.164s 2. Sergio Campana MLR 71 1m38.433s + 0.269s 3. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Supernova 1m38.466s + 0.302s 4. Giacomo Ricci Zele 1m38.887s + 0.723s 5. Victor Guerin Supernova 1m38.971s + 0.807s 6. Facu Regalia Campos 1m39.092s + 0.928s 7. Maxim Snegirev Campos 1m39.269s + 1.105s 8. Giuseppe Cipriani Campos 1m39.422s + 1.258s 9. Daniel de Jong Manor MP 1m39.630s + 1.466s 10. Adderly Fong Ombra 1m39.835s + 1.671s 11. Antonio Spavone Euronova 1m40.052s + 1.888s 12. Chris van der Drift Manor MP 1m40.877s + 2.713s 13. Giancarlo Serenelli Ombra 1m41.659s + 3.495s 14. Michele La Rosa MLR 71 1m41.713s + 3.549s 15. Matteo Beretta Virtuosi UK 1m42.058s + 3.894s 16. Pal Varhaug Virtuosi UK 1m42.443s + 4.279s
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