D'Ambrosio tops Barcelona test
Jerome D'Ambrosio set the fastest time of the GP2 Series test at Barcelona on Thursday
The 24-year-old Belgian, who is returning with DAMS for a third year in the series, completed only 12 laps in the morning session but set a time good enough to pip rookie Christian Vietoris and fellow old hand Pastor Maldonado by a tenth of a second.
Rookies Fabio Leimer, Jules Bianchi and Sam Bird completed the top six, all setting their best laps in the morning when track conditions were best.
The morning session was broken up frequently though, with seven separate red flag stoppages. Bianchi, Adrian Zaugg, Vladimir Arabadzhiev, Dani Clos, Rodolfo Gonzalez, Giacomo Ricci and Max Chilton were all guilty of spinning or stopping their cars out on track.
There was just one red flag in the afternoon, when rookie Marcus Ericsson hit the barrier at the final chicane.
Maldonado set the quickest time of the afternoon after Leimer had set the early running, with D'Ambrosio relegating the Swiss to third, but the times were a few tenths slower than in the morning.
The test at Barcelona continues tomorrow.
Morning times
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:27.182 12 2. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering 1:27.262 24 3. Pastor Maldonado Rapax 1:27.296 29 4. Fabio Leimer Ocean 1:27.402 13 5. Jules Bianchi ART 1:27.471 24 6. Sam Bird ART 1:27.539 29 7. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:27.603 20 8. Luiz Razia Rapax 1:27.635 28 9. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:27.671 12 10. Charles Pic Arden 1:27.845 22 11. Davide Valsecchi iSport 1:27.903 17 12. Oliver Turvey iSport 1:27.910 21 13. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax 1:27.979 19 14. Alberto Valerio Coloni 1:28.048 18 15. Josef Kral Super Nova 1:28.241 11 16. Adrian Zaugg Trident 1:28.408 26 17. Sergio Perez Barwa Addax 1:28.443 34 18. Michael Herck DPR 1:28.446 31 19. Marcus Ericsson Super Nova 1:28.537 7 20 Vladimir Arabadzhiev Coloni 1:28.642 22 21. Johnny Cecotto Trident 1:28.687 14 22. Ho-Pin Tung DAMS 1:28.964 35 23. Rodolfo Gonzalez Arden 1:29.001 32 24. Max Chilton Ocean 1:29.288 19
Afternoon times
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Pastor Maldonado Rapax 1:27.539 24 2. Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS 1:27.586 24 3. Fabio Leimer Ocean 1:27.628 14 4. Sergio Perez Barwa Addax 1:27.697 21 5. Christian Vietoris Racing Engineering 1:27.747 26 6. Luiz Razia Rapax 1:28.034 24 7. Davide Valsecchi iSport 1:28.054 23 8. Charles Pic Arden 1:28.068 26 9. Dani Clos Racing Engineering 1:28.104 29 10. Oliver Turvey iSport 1:28.124 24 11. Josef Kral Super Nova 1:28.465 16 12. Michael Herck DPR 1:28.466 28 13. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:28.532 6 14. Rodolfo Gonzalez Arden 1:28.586 25 15. Alberto Valerio Coloni 1:28.589 13 16. Adrian Zaugg Trident 1:28.783 23 17. Johnny Cecotto Trident 1:29.003 23 18. Giedo van der Garde Barwa Addax 1:29.035 18 19. Ho-Pin Tung DAMS 1:29.422 28 20 Max Chilton Ocean 1:29.501 17 21. Sam Bird ART 1:29.590 33 22. Marcus Ericsson Super Nova 1;29.770 3 23. Vladimir Arabadzhiev Coloni 1:30.011 12 24. Jules Bianchi ART 1:30.279 22
Be part of the Autosport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Live: F1 Chinese GP updates – FP1 & Sprint qualifying
How real-time scrutineering ensures fair and consistent competition in motorsport
How MotoGP brakes work: Secrets of stopping a 220mph bike
Hyundai enacts contingency plan after WRC Kenya fuel issue
Why Alpine’s rigorous training camp yields telling insights into its juniors
Can F2's relaxed title favourite prove a point to Alpine?
Why F1's junior logjam isn't entirely a product of current issues
Inside the racing university moulding F1 drivers and engineers alike
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