Leimer GP2 04-2013

Leimer leads Sakhir GP2 free practice…
 
Racing Engineering driver sets quickest laptime in morning session
 
Fabio Leimer means business: the Swiss driver lost no time impressing the rest of the field after he set the pace in this morning’s free practice at Bahrain International Circuit in a laptime of 1:41.361, one second quicker than his closest rival Sam Bird.
 
The second round of the 2013 GP2 Series season opened in Sakhir today under grey skies with light spots of rain falling on the track. But the scorching temperatures meant the wet weather tyres remained safely tucked away in the garages. The twenty six drivers took to the track on the Hard compound and Leimer was quick to top the timesheets: on his second lap, he set the pace in 1:42.369. Series leader Stefano Coletti caught up with the Swiss but was two tenths slower.
 
Two laps later, Leimer delivered the ultimate hammer blow by re-enforcing his position at the top of the standings, lighting all purple sectors and leaving the rest of his rivals with the hard task to try and reduce the gap. Bird ended up closest, but remained a clear second behind the Swiss ace. At the fifteen minute mark, most of the drivers returned to the pitlane to assess their set up options. Robin Frijns, Kevin Giovesi and Pal Varhaug chose to stay out a bit longer on a clear track in order to come to grips with the layout.
 
With ten minutes left on the clock, all cars came back out. The remainder of the session was trouble-free and studious. At the chequered flag, Leimer remained untouchable ahead of Bird and Coletti. Behind the top 3, rookie Alexander Rossi seemed comfortable at the wheel of his Caterham car. Marcus Ericsson finished fifth ahead of Felipe Nasr, James Calado, Tom Dillmann, Johnny Cecotto and Daniel Abt.
 
The qualifying session will start today at 4pm local time.
 
Sakhir – Free Practice
 
Driver
Team
Laptime
Laps
1.
Fabio Leimer
Racing Engineering
1:41.361
8
2.
Sam Bird
RUSSIAN TIME
1:42.421
10
3.
Stefano Coletti
Rapax
1:42.628
12
4.
Alexander Rossi
Caterham Racing
1:42.636
13
5.
Marcus Ericsson
DAMS
1:42.666
14
6.
Felipe Nasr
Carlin
1:42.687
12
7.
James Calado
ART Grand Prix
1:42.718
13
8.
Tom Dillmann
RUSSIAN TIME
1:42.734
10
9.
Johnny Cecotto
Arden International
1:42.803
13
10.
Daniel Abt
ART Grand Prix
1:42.943
12
11.
Stéphane Richelmi
DAMS
1:43.035
13
12.
Simon Trummer
Rapax
1:43.054
15
13.
Mitch Evans
Arden International
1:43.063
13
14.
Sergio Canamasas
Caterham Racing
1:43.092
13
15.
Julian Leal
Racing Engineering
1:43.156
11
16.
Jolyon Palmer
Carlin
1:43.188
13
17.
Kevin Ceccon
Trident Racing
1:43.271
13
18.
Kevin Giovesi
Venezuela GP Lazarus
1:43.280
14
19
Jake Rosenzweig
Barwa Addax Team
1:43.310
12
20.
Rio Haryanto
Barwa Addax Team
1:43.356
12
21.
Rene Binder
Venezuela GP Lazarus
1:43.620
13
22.
Nathanaël Berthon
Trident Racing
1:43.670
14
23.
Robin FRinjs
Hilmer Motorsport
1:43.875
14
24.
Adrian Quaife-Hobbs
MP Motorsport
1:44.002
13
25.
Daniel De Jong
MP Motorsport
1:44.200
12
26.
Pal Varhaug
Hilmer Motorsport
1:44.915
11