Race Centre Live Weekend test 2
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Good morning from AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live's coverage of the Friday of the Monaco and Indianapolis weekend.
That concludes AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live's Thursday coverage. We'll be back on Friday for GP2 from Monaco and more action from Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Friday schedule - all times GMT:
09.15 - GP2 feature race
15.00 - Indianapolis 500 Carb Day practice
16.30 - Indy Lights race
Friday schedule - all times GMT:
09.15 - GP2 feature race
15.00 - Indianapolis 500 Carb Day practice
16.30 - Indy Lights race
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NASCAR - Charlotte: Denny Hamlin on pole: "It was a great run, more than I expected. When I drove the lap it was so under control, I thought I left some out there.
"This is a great start to the weekend. Great to have a day off and enjoy it, then we'll come back and try to beat them all up on Sunday."
"This is a great start to the weekend. Great to have a day off and enjoy it, then we'll come back and try to beat them all up on Sunday."
Checkered flag
NASCAR - Charlotte qualifying: 1 Hamlin, 2 Kurt Busch, 3 Kenseth, 4 Martin, 5 Bowyer, 6 Kahne, 7 Biffle, 8 Kyle Busch, 9 McMurray, 10 Newman.
NASCAR - Charlotte: Denny Hamlin deposes Kurt Busch with another record lap for provisional pole.
Twitter
NASCAR - Charlotte: Brad Keselowski: "Kurt Busch= most talented driver in NASCAR. Happy to see him run well."
NASCAR - Charlotte: Kurt Busch holds provisional pole with 10 of 44 cars left to run.
Twitter
NASCAR - Charlotte: Juan Pablo Montoya: "Had a really good practice. P6. the Target car fell really good, go out a little early cause [of] the draw."
Last year's Charlotte event marked Kasey Kahne's first victory with Hendrick. Johnson also tipped his team-mate's #5 car as a sure-fire contender again this weekend.
Jimmie Johnson, 2013 Daytona 500 win
Johnson currently has an impressive points lead. In this year's 11 Cup races to date, he has taken two wins (including the Daytona 500) and six other top-six finishes.
1 Johnson 423
2 Edwards 379
3 Kenseth 364
4 Earnhardt 359
5 Bowyer 349
6 Kahne 326
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But speaking after his All-Star win, Johnson said Kurt's performance proved he would be a contender for this weekend's 600-mile race: "The #78 I think is somebody you ought to consider for the 600. I think he probably was the most dominant car tonight."
The siblings were the pacesetters again during this afternoon's practice session, with Kurt ahead of Kyle.
2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch has been up against it with underdog teams Phoenix and Furniture Row since his dramatic departure from Penske after a turbulent 2011 campaign.
2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch has been up against it with underdog teams Phoenix and Furniture Row since his dramatic departure from Penske after a turbulent 2011 campaign.
All-Star
Last weekend's All-Star race at the track is an excellent form guide.
Although it was Jimmie Johnson who worked his way to the front and won, it was the Busch brothers who dominated much of the event, winning two of the four preliminary segments each.
NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying from Charlotte Motor Speedway concludes Thursday's AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live action at 23.10 GMT.
Carlos Munoz leads the Indy Lights standings after winning the last two rounds at Barber and Long Beach. Not only that, but he is stepping up to Andretti Autosport's IndyCar arm for the Indy 500 and has qualified a stunning second for his maiden top-level race.
The newcomer to watch may well be Kyle O'Gara. The 17-year-old midget racer is step-brother of former IndyCar driver turned winning team boss Sarah Fisher. Crack team Schmidt Peterson has linked up with Fisher to run his car, and O'Gara was second to Sage Karam in practice this morning.
A few guest entrants bolster the field for Indy, including sometime Hendrick NASCAR protege Chase Austin, who was initially slated for the AJ Foyt Indy 500 seat ultimately taken by GP3 star Conor Daly.
Indy Lights is struggling at present, though. Its new car has been postponed and its field shrunk to a meagre nine cars for the opening two rounds. Series chief Tony George Jr recently gave AUTOSPORT a remarkably candid interview about the IndyCar feeder's plight.
The series got a slot on the hallowed Indianapolis 500 bill in 2003, racing on the traditional 'Carb Day' Friday, the IndyCar field's final hour of practice before the big race.
Qualifying for Indy Lights' showpiece Freedom 100 is next up.
In the meantime, check out AUTOSPORT's special feature package for the Indianapolis 500:
Dario Franchitti on how to win Indy
Nigel Mansell's Indianapolis near-miss
Takuma Sato's audio guide to Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indy 500 history gallery
Jacques Villeneuve relives his 1995 Indy 500 win
Dario Franchitti on how to win Indy
Nigel Mansell's Indianapolis near-miss
Takuma Sato's audio guide to Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Indy 500 history gallery
Jacques Villeneuve relives his 1995 Indy 500 win
The GP2 session was the last of the European series in action today. AUTOSPORT Race Centre Live will continue to carry news updates from the world's paddocks through the afternoon.
This evening and into Friday morning European time, the action switches to America, as Indy Lights gears up for its big date at Indianapolis and the NASCAR Sprint Cup resumes at Charlotte.
Thursday evening schedule - all times GMT:
17:15: Indy Lights qualifying
23:30: NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying
This evening and into Friday morning European time, the action switches to America, as Indy Lights gears up for its big date at Indianapolis and the NASCAR Sprint Cup resumes at Charlotte.
Thursday evening schedule - all times GMT:
17:15: Indy Lights qualifying
23:30: NASCAR Sprint Cup qualifying
GP2 - Monaco So they will line up like this for Friday's feature race: Poleman Cecotto & Evans on row one; Bird & Leimer on row two; Ceccon & Palmer on row three; Leal & Dillmann on row four; Nasr & Frijns on row five. Points leader Stefano Coletti will start 14th.
Stopwatch
Evans
GP2 - Monaco After an awesome Group B session, where a flurry of quick times came near the end, Mitch Evans topped it with 1m21.157s, but failed to topple Arden team-mate from overall pole position by 0.016s.
Fabio Leimer was second fastest just 0.028s slower than Evans, so will start fourth, with Jolyon Palmer third, which becomes sixth. So Arden locks out the front row - but only just!
GP2 - Monaco Now it's time for the Group B boys, which means the likes of points leader Stefano Coletti, Fabio Leimer, Tom Dillmann and Jolyon Palmer - not to be confused with Lancia Delta S4s, Metro 6R4s or Peugeot 205 T16s.
Stopwatch
Cecotto
GP2 - Monaco As the chequered flag waves on Group A qualifying at Monaco, Johnny Cecotto Jr remains on top. He set an even faster lap than before on his final run, a 1m21.141s.
Sam Bird also improved on his last effort to go second, 0.368s off Cecotto's best. Kevin Ceccon was third fastest, ahead of Julian Leal, Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.
GP2 - Monaco: After the first runs, and five minutes to go, Johnny Cecotto Jr is leading the times, over a second clear of Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.
GP2 - Monaco: Each session is just 15 minutes long, so there's no time for the usual two runs - it will most likely be just one run on super-soft tyres. Group A features heavyweights like Sam Bird, Felipe Nasr, Johnny Cecotto Jr and James Calado.
GP2 - Monaco: The session will start at 14:15 GMT with Group A, which features all odd-numbered cars. After a 10m break, Group B, with all even-numbered cars, start their session at 14:40 GMT.
GP2 - Monaco Qualifying in Monte Carlo is starting shortly.
Sam Bird was fastest for Russian Time this morning in practice, leading team-mate Tom Dillmann in a one-two for the rookie outfit.
Sam Bird was fastest for Russian Time this morning in practice, leading team-mate Tom Dillmann in a one-two for the rookie outfit.
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FR3.5 - Monaco Vandoorne has offered up a little bit more in a post-session statement about his first day of driving in Monaco: "I’m a bit disappointed after the accident at the end of the session. I didn’t see the yellow flag and I was just as surprised as the driver in front of me. The most important thing, though, is that I set the fastest time. I thought it was going to be more difficult finish in front, as it was my first time on a street circuit. It’s good for my confidence."
Twitter
Vandoorne
FR3.5 - Monaco Stoffel Vandoorne and his Fortec team have not wanted to say much on his penalty so far. The McLaren junior has said this on Twitter: @svandoorne "Unfortunalty crashed 5mins from the end. Didn't see yellow flags and drove into another car. 5 place grid penalty for the race :-("
GP2 - Monaco Comparing Calado's sector times with Bird's P1 lap, he's losing 0.163s in S1, a whopping 0.572s in S2 and 0.357s in the last one. Not long for ART Grand Prix to find a solution to the 1.135s deficit before qualifying in two and a half hours time.
Twitter
After setting the 10th fastest time in GP2 free practice, @JamesCalado: "Practice didn't go to plan. The car is not drivable at the moment and we have a lot of work to do for qualifying. Staying positive :)"
Breaking news
Monaco FR3.5 Here is the full story on Stoffel Vandoorne's grid penalty for crashing under yellow flags.
Stefano Coletti GP2 2013
With the first Formula 1 session complete, it will soon be GP2's turn to light up the streets of Monte Carlo. Practice starts at 10.00 GMT.
Stefano Coletti currently leads the championship after the opening three rounds, with a healthy 17 point margin over Felipe Nasr. Fabio Leimer is a further 22 points adrift, while Robin Frijns sits fourth despite only making his series debut in the second round.
The Dutchman's victory last time out at Barcelona is a big reason for his current championship position. Sam Bird has also won once, while Coletti and Leimer have two wins apiece.
Standings after round three:
1 Stefano Coletti 93
2 Felipe Nasr 76
3 Fabio Leimer 54
4 Robin Frijns 37
5 Sam Bird 33
Breaking news
FR3.5 - Monaco: News from the Monaco paddock that Stoffel Vandoorne will get a five-place grid penalty for his incident under yellows in practice. Full story shortly.
By: Matt Beer, Glenn Freeman, Sam Tremayne, Pablo Elizalde, Charles Bradley, Mark Glendenning, Marcus Simmons
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