Frijns stays on top on second day of Formula Renault 3.5 testing at Paul Ricard
Robin Frijns kept Foretc at the top of the timesheets on the second day of pre-season testing for the new Formula Renault 3.5 car at Paul Ricard
The reigning Formula Renault Eurocup champion shaved more than one second off his pacesetting best on the opening day to post a 1m45.667s.
That was just enough to edge out Tech 1's Jules Bianchi, who got to within two thousandths of Frijns's benchmark in the afternoon.
A similarly negligible gap separated Kevin Magnussen (Carlin) and Richie Stanaway (Lotus) in the fight for third, with Magnussen eventually claiming the spot by just 0.023s. The pair were the last drivers to dip below the 1m46s mark.
Carlos Huertas completed a strong day for Fortec by finishing fifth fastest, ahead of the trio of Arthur Pic (DAMS), Walter Grubmuller (P1) and Sam Bird (ISR).
Grubmuller and Bird ended with exactly the same time, although Bird set his slightly later in the morning running.
Draco's Andre Negrao and Lotus's Marco Sorensen rounded out the top 10, both drivers getting to within eight tenths of Frijns.
The Dutchman's best time is more than four seconds faster than the lap record in the old Formula Renault 3.5 car, a 1m49.901s set by 2011 champion Robert Wickens.
Day Two Times:
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Robin Frijns Fortec Motorsports 1m45.667s 2. Jules Bianchi Tech 1 Racing 1m45.669s + 0.002s 3. Kevin Magnussen Carlin 1m45.952s + 0.285s 4. Richie Stanaway Lotus 1m45.975s + 0.308s 5. Carlos Huertas Fortec Motorsports 1m46.116s + 0.449s 6. Arthur Pic Dams 1m46.128s + 0.461s 7. Walter Grubmuller P1 Motorsport 1m46.334s + 0.667s 8. Sam Bird Isr 1m46.334s + 0.667s 9. Andrè Negrao International Draco 1m46.368s + 0.701s 10. Marco Sorensen Lotus 1m46.376s + 0.709s 11. Nick Yelloly Comtec Racing 1m46.473s + 0.806s 12. Nico Muller International Draco 1m46.561s + 0.894s 13. Daniil Move P1 Motorsport 1m46.821s + 1.154s 14. Lucas Foresti Dams 1m46.922s + 1.255s 15. Alexander Rossi Arden Caterham 1m46.931s + 1.264s 16. Kevin Korjus Tech 1 Racing 1m46.944s + 1.277s 17. Vittorio Ghirelli Comtec Racing 1m47.705s + 2.038s 18. Will Stevens Carlin 1m47.719s + 2.052s 19. Zoel Amberg Pons Racing 1m47.724s + 2.057s 20. Anton Nebylitskiy Team Rfr 1m47.821s + 2.154s 21. Lewis Williamson Arden Caterham 1m47.848s + 2.181s 22. Nicolay Martsenko Bvm Target 1m47.912s + 2.245s 23. Jake Rosenzweig Isr 1m47.997s + 2.330s 24. Mikhail Aleshin Team Rfr 1m48.021s + 2.354s 25. Giovanni Venturini Bvm Target 1m48.261s + 2.594s 26. Yann Cunha Pons Racing 1m49.319s + 3.652s
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