Herck sets testing pace at Paul Ricard
Michael Herck set the pace on the opening day of GP2 testing at the Paul Ricard circuit, where the series is carrying out its final three-day session of the year
Herck, at the wheel of the DPR car, posted a best time of 1:12.271 in the afternoon session, having already topped the timesheets in the morning with a lap that was seven tenths slower.
At the 3D configuration of the French track, the Romanian driver led Oliver Turvey in the morning and Fabio Leimer in the afternoon, the Briton getting closest in the first session, finishing around a tenth behind Herck.
Sam Bird was third quickest ahead in the afternoon, when the eight best times of the day were set.
Turvey finished in fourth overall, with GP2 Asia championship leader Davide Valsecchi completing the top five in the second iSport car.
There was only one rookie driver on track today, as American Jake Rosenzweig took to wheel of the Super Nova car to post the 13th fastest time.
The test continues tomorrow.
Morning times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Michael Herck DPR 1:12.976 25 2. Oliver Turvey iSport International 1:13.094 17 3. Christian Vietoris Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:13.099 27 4. Jerome d'Ambrosio Barwa Addax Team 1:13.138 33 5. Sam Bird ART Grand Prix 1:13.244 23 6. Fabio Leimer Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:13.266 37 7. James Jakes Super Nova Racing 1:13.321 21 8. Alberto Valerio DAMS 1:13.326 23 9. Karun Chandhok Party Poker Racing.com 1:13.373 15 10. Esteban Gutierrez Telmex Arden International 1:13.439 32 11. Max Chilton Barwa Addax Team 1:13.560 23 12. Alexander Rossi DAMS 1:13.562 37 13. Stefano Coletti Piquet GP 1:13.591 22 14. Davide Valsecchi iSport International 1:14.004 16 15. Charles Pic Ocean Racing Technology 1:14.267 29 16. William Bratt Party Poker Racing.com 1:14.365 22 17. Rodolfo Gonzalez Ocean Racing Technology 1:14.385 32 18. Vladimir Arabadzhiev Piquet GP 1:14.519 29 19. Jake Rosenzweig Super Nova Racing 1:14.561 17 20. Jan Charouz ART Grand Prix 1:14.639 31 21. Luiz Razia Telmex Arden International 1:15.289 8 22. Kevin Nai Chia Chen Trident Racing 1:15:730 24 23. Plamen Kralev Trident Racing 1:17.638 25
Afternoon times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Michael Herck DPR 1:12.271 26 2. Fabio Leimer Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:12.619 31 3. Sam Bird ART Grand Prix 1:12.746 14 4. Oliver Turvey iSport International 1:12.764 28 5. Davide Valsecchi iSport International 1:12.771 29 6. Karun Chandhok Party Poker Racing.com 1:12.786 23 7. Jerome d'Ambrosio Barwa Addax Team 1:12.839 20 8. James Jakes Super Nova Racing 1:12.929 25 9. Stefano Coletti Piquet GP 1:13.032 26 10. Luiz Razia Telmex Arden International 1:13.066 45 11. Esteban Gutierrez Telmex Arden International 1:13.262 26 12. William Bratt Party Poker Racing.com 1:13.303 18 13. Jake Rosenzweig Super Nova Racing 1:13.387 6 14. Alexander Rossi DAMS 1:13.402 36 15. Max Chilton Barwa Addax Team 1:13.565 30 16. Christian Vietoris Fat Burner Racing Eng. 1:13.568 8 17. Alberto Valerio DAMS 1:13.574 21 18. Vladimir Arabadzhiev Piquet GP 1:13.710 39 19. Charles Pic Ocean Racing Technology 1:13.802 31 20. Rodolfo Gonzalez Ocean Racing Technology 1:14.049 37 21. Jan Charouz ART Grand Prix 1:14.121 30 22. Giacomo Ricci DPR 1:14.141 16 23. Kevin Nai Chia Chen Trident Racing 1:14.991 29 24. Plamen Kralev Trident Racing 1:16.766 16
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