Van Hooydonk sets Barca pace

Following a wet morning session that included two heavy shunts, the second of which precluded any further running for AEZ Motorsport's Raffaele Gianmaria, the remaining 16 runners got down to serious running as the track dried out in the afternoon. Only BCN did not run two cars and the team expects to announce its second driver next week.

Gianmaria's accident, at the fast final right-hander, occurred after the Italian ran over the wet curbs on the outside of the corner. The car then speared into the pit wall before bouncing across the track into the other barrier. The car was too badly damaged to continue.

This all happened hours after one the championship favourites, Vitantonio Liuzzi, managed the same thing in his Arden International car, although with less damaging consequences.

Liuzzi and van Hooydonk traded fastest times all day, but it was the Belgian that ended up fastest by three tenths. Liuzzi's team-mate Robert Doornbos was third quickest ahead of Mathias Lauda, Patrick Friesacher and Enrico Toccacelo.

Jeffrey van Hooydonk Coloni 1m33.028s
Vitantonio Liuzzi Arden 1m33.336s
Robert Doornbos Arden 1m33.387s
Mathias Lauda CMS 1m33.387s
Patrick Friesacher Super Nova 1m33.533s
Enrico Toccacelo BCN 1m33.597s
Tomas Enge Ma-Con 1m33.649s
Yannick Schroeder Durango 1m33.737s
Alan van der Merwe Super Nova 1m33.824s
Jan Heylen Astromega 1m33.995s

Times are from the afternoon session. No reliable times were recorded in the morning.