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Vergne tops testing at Jerez

Red Bull junior driver Jean-Eric Vergne continued his formidable form by setting the fastest time over two days of Formula Renault 3.5 collective testing at Jerez

Four rookies monopolised the first four places, with Draco's Nathanael Berthon 0.313s adrift in second, ahead of Stefano Coletti (Comtec Racing) and Daniel Zampieri (Pons Racing).

Setting out on new rubber one hour before the chequered flag on Sunday's opening session, Vergne swiftly displaced Berthon at the top of the timing screens with a lap of 1m29.212s.

The session was shortly interrupted due to an oil leak from Keisuke Kunimoto's Epsilon Euskadi machine. With track temperature up to 22°C, teams opted to work on their race set-ups in the afternoon and Vergne's time was secured.

"I did a race simulation in the afternoon," said Vergne. "That's good, because it's been a while since I've put so many laps together. In both sessions, I set my lap time with just one quick lap. So I've adapted well to the fresh tyres. We just need to work on the light aerodynamic configuration and the pit stops, and then we'll be all ready to go."

Joining the Frenchman at SG Formula on Sunday was former GP2 race winner, and 2006 Formula Renault 3.5 title challenger, Pastor Maldonado. A spin ended the Venezuelan's day on track prematurely.

Brendon Hartley arrived back from Red Bull's Formula 1 reserve duties in Bahrain with a busy programme to complete for Tech 1 Racing. Still handicapped by a hand injury, team-mate Daniel Ricciardo was confined to a short run in the morning to work on finding the right driving position.

The final pre-season collective test will take place at Motorland Aragon on the 26th-27th March.

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