Premat tops free practice in Spain
Alex Premat set the pace in the free practice for this weekend's GP2 event in Barcelona
The ART Grand Prix driver headed the field by 0.2 seconds, but the session was little more than a demonstration of the Frenchman's wet weather skill than a pointer to what can be expected from qualifying later today.
Overnight rain left the track sodden, and wet tyres were the order of the day throughout the half-hour session. But with the sky clearing over the circuit de Catalunya, qualifying is expected to be dry.
Given this, the premium was on keeping the car intact, something Super Nova's Jose Maria Lopez failed to do as he put his car head first into the tyre wall. The conditions were also bad news for series returnee Giorgio Pantano. The new FMS driver has yet to drive a GP2 cars on slicks, something he'll have to wait for qualifying to do now.
Lewis Hamilton ended up second quickest, while DAMS's Franck Perera was third. Ernesto Viso went fourth fastest for iSport, while series leader Nelson Piquet Jr had a brief trip over the gravel en route to fifth.
Adam Carroll was seventh fastest, Pantano 13th in his comeback session.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Premat ART Grand Prix 1:44.673 14 2. Hamilton ART Grand Prix 1:44.901 14 3. Perera DAMS 1:45.485 14 4. Viso iSport International 1:45.541 14 5. Piquet Jr Piquet Sports 1:45.590 16 6. Ammermueller Arden International Ltd 1:45.704 14 7. Carroll Racing Engineering 1:45.809 14 8. Monfardini DAMS 1:45.843 15 9. Valles Campos Racing 1:45.914 13 10. Piccione DPR Direxiv 1:45.935 13 11. Negrao Piquet Sports 1:46.066 5 12. Glock BCN Competicion 1:46.123 15 13. Pantano FMS International 1:46.141 13 14. Villa Racing Engineering 1:46.208 17 15. Lapierre Arden International Ltd 1:46.440 14 16. di Grassi Durango 1:46.494 15 17. Gommendy iSport International 1:46.529 16 18. Yoshimoto BCN Competicion 1:46.665 13 19. Hernandez Durango 1:46.711 14 20. Bruni Trident Racing 1:47.380 13 21. Pla DPR Direxiv 1:47.683 10 22. Porteiro Campos Racing 1:47.737 14 23. Tahinci FMS International 1:47.770 15 24. Zuber Trident Racing 1:48.518 14 25. Fauzy Super Nova International 1:48.574 5 26. Lopez Super Nova International no time 2
Share Or Save This Story
Autosport 75: Horner’s first F1 season with Red Bull
Every Dutch Formula 1 driver ranked
FIA president Jean Todt: Mick Schumacher should be left in peace
Green wins again as GB4 title race heats up at Oulton Park
Alpine continues quest to fix Gasly's mystifying car issues
Oulton Park round sets up thrilling British GT 2026 title fight
Former F1 boss Brawn gets MotoGP role
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