Speed Fastest in Practice
Scott Speed has set the pace in Istanbul, taking the top spot on the timesheets by more than eight tenths of a second from Giorgio Pantano, Nico Rosberg and Nelson Piquet
Speed set a string of fastest laps in the closing stages of free practice, with the last one stopping the clock at 1:40.384, and no one could come close to his time on the slippery track.
All 24 cars were immediately on the track at the start of the session, but the unlucky Olivier Pla was left stranded on track just three corners later. The marshalls eventually came onto the track to give him a push, but he was unable to get going and his session was over before it began.
The track conditions caught out a number of the drivers, with local driver Can Artam spinning a number of times, while Alex Premat, Neel Jani and Clivio Piccione were also caught out, the latter being baulked by Giorgio Mondini as the Monegasque tried to pass at the final corner.
A variety of drivers spent time at the top of the timesheets, including Ernesto Viso, Hiroki Yoshimoto, Rosberg and Heikki Kovalainen, but with ten minutes to go Speed found his rhythm and put in a string of fastest laps, to no reply.
The rest of the field will need to work hard to find some speed in their cars ahead of this afternoon's qualifying session, as only three drivers were within a second of Speed.
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Speed iSport 1:40:384 14 2. Pantano Super Nova 1:41:199 + 0.815 13 3. Rosberg ART 1:41:218 + 0.834 15 4. Piquet Hitech Piquet 1:41:461 + 1.077 15 5. Garcia Racing Eng. 1:41:611 + 1.227 14 6. Yoshimoto BCN Comp. 1:41:635 + 1.251 15 7. Lopez DAMS 1:41:678 + 1.294 13 8. Monfardini Durango 1:42:072 + 1.688 13 9. Kovalainen Arden 1:42:115 + 1.731 12 10. Carroll Super Nova 1:42:138 + 1.754 15 11. Lapierre Arden 1:42:298 + 1.914 14 12. Viso BCN Comp. 1:42:321 + 1.937 14 13. Premat ART 1:42:480 + 2.096 14 14. Artam iSport 1:42:502 + 2.118 14 15. Mondini DPR 1:42:573 + 2.189 15 16. Negrão Hitech Piquet 1:42:641 + 2.257 15 17. Alvarez Campos Racing 1:42:649 + 2.265 15 18. Hernandez Campos Racing 1:42:703 + 2.319 15 19. Piccione Durango 1:42:721 + 2.337 14 20. Jani Racing Eng. 1:42:889 + 2.505 13 21. Fauzy DAMS 1:43:627 + 3.243 15 22. Bruni Coloni 1:43:646 + 3.262 7 23. Lauda Coloni 1:44:137 + 3.753 13 All Timing Unofficial
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