Vergne quickest in FR3.5 testing
Jean-Eric Vergne set the fastest time in Formula Renault 3.5 collective testing at Motorland Aragon this afternoon - as the Frenchman displayed no signs of difficulty switching between his Formula 3 and FR3.5 programmes
The Red Bull Junior man's time of 1m43.235s for SG Formula was 0.305 seconds up on his closest challenger, Renault Formula 1 reserve driver Jan Charouz.
"Everything is going fine for me," said Vergne. "I set the fastest time in the British Formula 3 test at Silverstone [on Tuesday], and again now here. I'm working with an engineer I know well from SG's Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup 2.0 last year, really I'm just doing my job."
Runner-up in this morning's session, Pons driver Federico Leo stepped over the limit in his pursuit of the leaders but still managed third fastest this afternoon.
"The time was set on my seventh lap on new tyres," said Leo, "and then unfortunately as I was pushing I went off the track."
Fourth fastest Greg Mansell expressed himself happy with his Comtec car's pace on old rubber, but felt that more set-up work was required in order to exploit his new tyres to the full.
Russian Anton Nebylitskiy took fifth with rookie outfit KMP Racing, while Fortec's Jon Lancaster completed the top six.
Former Macau Grand Prix winner Keisuke Kunimoto led much of the early part of the afternoon session on a time of 1m44.612s, before slipping to seventh. Kunimoto was a lone runner for Epsilon Euskadi, as team-mate Albert Costa remains sidelined with an injured thumb; a legacy of an accident in 2010's opening collective test at Barcelona.
Reigning Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup champion Costa aims to return to action in time for the first round of the season on April 17th, but admits that it will be a close call.
"I hope to be at the first race, I am concentrating really hard on my physio," said Costa. "My problem is it's painful to bend the top joint of my thumb, the blood is not reaching it as it should.
"If I do the first race, my hand will have to be in some kind of cast. It will mean the first race will be my pre-season test. The season is a big opportunity for me, if it doesn't work out I'll probably be going home, so I am doing everything I can to make it."Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1. Jean Eric Vergne SG 1m43.235s 30
2. Jan Charouz P1 1m43.540s + 0.305s 29
3. Federico Leo Pons 1m43.689s + 0.454s 33
4. Greg Mansell Comtec 1m43.723s + 0.488s 30
5. Anton Nebylitskyi KMP 1m43.842s + 0.607s 27
6. Jon Lancaster Fortec 1m43.860s + 0.625s 20
7. Keisuke Kunimoto Epsilon Euskadi 1m43.980s + 0.745s 29
8. Nathanael Berthon Draco 1m43.986s + 0.751s 26
9. Walter Grubmuller P1 1m44.000s + 0.765s 30
10. Victor Garcia KMP 1m44.058s + 0.823s 17
11. Brendon Hartley Tech 1 1m44.122s + 0.887s 30
12. Jake Rosenzweig Carlin 1m44.142s + 0.907s 34
13. Julian Leal Draco 1m44.420s + 1.185s 31
14. Sten Pentus Fortec 1m44.531s + 1.296s 46
15. Filip Salaquarda ISR 1m44.532s + 1.297s 24
16. Mikhail Aleshin Carlin 1m44.764s + 1.529s 26
17. Stefano Coletti Comtec 1m44.907s + 1.672s 26
18. Frederic Vervisch Interwetten 1m44.929s + 1.694s 21
19. Claudio Cantelli Tech 1 1m44.948s + 1.713s 49
20. Nelson Panciatici Junior Lotus 1m45.037s + 1.802s 26
21. Bruno Mendez Interwetten 1m45.089s + 1.854s 34
22. Daniel Zampieri Pons 1m45.275s + 2.040s 19
23. Sergio Canamasas SG 1m45.330s + 2.095s 19
24. Daniil Move Junior Lotus 1m46.483s + 3.248s 3
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