Duran quickest in Monaco practice
Salvador Duran emerged fastest in Thursday's Formula Renault 3.5 practice session at Monaco, the final opportunity for the drivers to garner experience of the circuit before qualifying on Saturday morning
The Mexican, who finished third around the streets of the principality last year, set a time of 1m28.362s, three tenths of a second faster than championship leader Giedo van der Garde. Marco Bonanomi was third fastest for Comtec ahead of Frenchman Guillaume Moreau.
Carlin's Robert Wickens made another strong start to a race weekend in fifth. After enduring a troubled start to his season, the Canadian is in urgent need of translating his undoubted pace into a solid points haul.
Prema were the only team to have both their drivers in the top 10, with Spaniard Alvaro Barba sixth and compatriot Miguel Molina 10th.
Fortec's new signing Fairuz Fauzy had no difficulty acclimatising to his new mount, finishing ninth fastest in his first competitive outing since the GP2 Asia finale in Dubai on April 12th.
The track opened in wet/dry conditions, and the session was red flagged twice as several cars hit trouble. The first stoppage was caused when van der Garde and Spa winner Bertrand Baguette blocked the track after making contact at Turn 18.
Bonanomi's Comtec team-mate Pasquale di Sabatino brought the session to a halt with six minutes remaining after hitting the tyre wall at Mirabeau, and requiring a small army of marshals to extricate his car.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Salvador Duran Interwetten 1:28.362 2. Giedo van der Garde P1 1:28.644 3. Marco Bonanomi Comtec 1:28.743 4. Guillaume Moreau KTR 1:28.754 5. Robert Wickens Carlin 1:28.970 6. Alvaro Barba Prema 1:29.287 7. Fabio Carbone Ultimate 1:29.290 8. Bertrand Baguette Draco 1:29.291 9. Fairuz Fauzy Fortec 1:29.309 10. Miguel Molina Prema 1:29.447 11. Charles Pic Tech 1 1:30.106 12. Borja Garcia RC 1:30.147 13. Pablo Sanchez Interwetten 1:30.237 14. James Walker Fortec 1:30.482 15. Claudio Cantelli Ultimate 1:30.557 16. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1:30.725 17. Julien Jousse Tech 1 1:30.941 18. Daniil Move KTR 1:30.960 19. Mario Romancini Epsilon 1:31.151 20. Marco Barba Draco 1:31.274 21. Marcos Martinez Pons 1:31.315 22. Alex Marsoin Epsilon 1:31.525 23. Maximo Cortes Pons 1:31.673 24. Pasquale di Sabatino Comtec 1:32.077 25. Aleix Alcaraz RC 1:32.176 26. Pippa Mann P1 1:33.548
Share Or Save This Story
Autosport 70: Why Portimao is the right home for the Portuguese GP
FV8 3.5 race winner Orudzhev switches to title-winning AVF team
How the post-Renault 3.5 series is shaping up
Renger van der Zande and Meyer Shank Racing win Long Beach IMSA race
Driver dies following multi-car crash in Nürburgring 24h Qualifiers race
What’s going on at Aston Martin – and how does the team find a way out of its hole?
BTCC Donington Park: Rowbottom gives Plato’s team a debut win after Ingram penalty
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments