GP3 TESTING DAY 1
NICK YELLOLY FASTEST ON DAY 1
Status GP’s Yelloly quickest in morning session
British driver Nick Yelloly posted the best time of the day with a 1:35.104 in the morning session, whilst fellow compatriot Alex Lynn (Carlin) recorded the fastest time in the afternoon.
The third and final pre-season test session takes place at the Circuit De Catalunya in Spain. The opening round of the GP3 Series is just three weeks away with the GP3 paddock returning to Barcelona again for the first race of the season; meaning this two day test is vital for the teams and drivers to prepare the correct set-up for qualifying and race trim.
Matheo Tuscher from Switzerland was one new face to the 2014 pre-season testing line-up. The young rookie has previously tested for GP3 back in 2012. The morning session got underway under clear blue skies albeit in fresh conditions. The Carlin trio of Lynn, Luis Sa Silva and Emil Bernstorff were first to take to the track.
It was a quiet start to proceedings in the first hour, with the Status GP duo of Yelloly and Richie Stanaway heading the timings early on. The Kiwi then ran wide avoiding a slower car and stopped off track which brought out the red flag for a short period.
Marussia Manor Racing’s Patrick Kujala was first to lap in the 1m35’s before Lynn snuck into P1 a few hundredths faster. In the final stages of the session, Yelloly regained his place at the top of the standings, with his best efforts almost half a second quicker than Jimmy Eriksson (Koiranen GP) who had moved up to second. Marvin Kirchhofer ended the session in third ahead of Lynn, Stanaway, Kujala, Alex Fontana, Robert Visoiu, Santiago Urrutia and Dino Zamparelli.
Following a two hour break for lunch as the temperature increased, it was Arden International’s Jann Mardenborough who was the early pace-setter. Nelson Mason (Hilmer Motorsport) out-braked himself and stopped in the gravel which saw the session halted. Once the action resumed, Bernstoff clocked the quickest time before his teammate Lynn displaced him by setting the first lap in the 1m35’s of the afternoon session.
Eriksson jumped up to P2, before Tuscher demoted the Swede, lapping half a second shy of Lynn. Kujala found some extra pace to rise back up to second in the timings, one tenth off the Carlin debutant. Trident’s Denis Nagulin had an excursion at Turn 4 which saw the third red flag of the day as the clock ticked down.
Zamparelli progressed up the order to third in the final moments but the red flag brought an early end to the day when Mason went off at Turn 9, therefore the session didn’t resume. At the chequered flag it was Lynn who held top spot, ahead of Kujala, Zamparelli, Tuscher, Bernstorff, Patric Niederhauser, Stanaway, Eriksson, Mardenborough and Pal Varhaug.
The schedule for Day 2 of the test sees the test commence at 09.00 – 12.00 with a one hour break. The afternoon session will begin at 13.00 and end at 16.00.
Morning Results
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Laptime
|
Laps
|
|
|
1.
|
Nick Yelloly
|
Status Grand Prix
|
1:35.104
|
22
|
|
2.
|
Jimmy Eriksson
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:35.582
|
24
|
|
3.
|
Marvin Kirchhofer
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:35.590
|
16
|
|
4.
|
Alex Lynn
|
Carlin
|
1:35.716
|
29
|
|
5.
|
Richie Stanaway
|
Status Grand Prix
|
1:35.718
|
17
|
|
6.
|
Patrick Kujala
|
Marussia Manor Racing
|
1:35.788
|
21
|
|
7.
|
Alex Fontana
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:35.788
|
15
|
|
8.
|
Robert Visoiu
|
Arden International
|
1:36.024
|
21
|
|
9.
|
Santiago Urrutia
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:36.031
|
19
|
|
10.
|
Dino Zamparelli
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:36.164
|
13
|
|
11.
|
Patric Niederhauser
|
Arden International
|
1:36.279
|
23
|
|
12.
|
Nelson Mason
|
Hilmer Motorsport
|
1:36.375
|
32
|
|
13.
|
Dean Stoneman
|
Marussia Manor Racing
|
1:36.387
|
16
|
|
14.
|
Adderly Fong
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
1:36.409
|
30
|
|
15.
|
Mathéo Tuscher
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
1:36.448
|
19
|
|
16.
|
Luis Sa Silva
|
Carlin
|
1:36.489
|
28
|
|
17.
|
Jann Mardenborough
|
Arden International
|
1:36.515
|
23
|
|
18.
|
Pal Varhaug
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
1:36.538
|
23
|
|
19.
|
Emil Bernstorff
|
Carlin
|
1:36.591
|
22
|
|
20.
|
Roman De Beer
|
Trident
|
1:37.015
|
23
|
|
21.
|
Alfonso Celis Jr
|
Status Grand Prix
|
1:37.035
|
27
|
|
22.
|
Ryan Cullen
|
Marussia Manor Racing
|
1:37.087
|
25
|
|
23.
|
Ivan Taranov
|
Hilmer Motorsport
|
1:37.262
|
34
|
|
24.
|
Victor Carbone
|
Trident
|
1:37.294
|
25
|
|
25.
|
Denis Nagulin
|
Trident
|
1:38.268
|
21
|
|
26.
|
Carmen Jorda
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:41.406
|
25
|
Afternoon Results
|
Driver
|
Team
|
Laptime
|
Laps
|
|
|
1.
|
Alex Lynn
|
Carlin
|
1:35.663
|
33
|
|
2.
|
Patrick Kujala
|
Marussia Manor Racing
|
1:35.851
|
32
|
|
3.
|
Dino Zamparelli
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:36.082
|
29
|
|
4.
|
Matheo Tuscher
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
1:36.280
|
32
|
|
5.
|
Emil Bernstorff
|
Carlin
|
1:36.358
|
36
|
|
6.
|
Patric Niederhauser
|
Arden International
|
1:36.401
|
30
|
|
7.
|
Richie Stanaway
|
Status Grand Prix
|
1:36.469
|
35
|
|
8.
|
Jimmy Eriksson
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:36.510
|
23
|
|
9.
|
Jann Mardenborough
|
Arden International
|
1:36.513
|
30
|
|
10.
|
Pal Varhaug
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
1:36.513
|
21
|
|
11.
|
Alex Fontana
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:36.557
|
29
|
|
12.
|
Dean Stoneman
|
Marussia Manor Racing
|
1:36.626
|
32
|
|
13.
|
Luis Sa Silva
|
Carlin
|
1:36.891
|
13
|
|
14.
|
Robert Visoiu
|
Arden International
|
1:37.102
|
31
|
|
15.
|
Santiago Urrutia
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:37.147
|
14
|
|
16.
|
Adderly Fong
|
Jenzer Motorsport
|
1:37.423
|
29
|
|
17.
|
Roman De Beer
|
Trident
|
1:37.591
|
30
|
|
18.
|
Victor Carbone
|
Trident
|
1:37.591
|
35
|
|
19.
|
Nelson Mason
|
Hilmer Motorsport
|
1:37.864
|
27
|
|
20.
|
Nick Yelloly
|
Status Grand Prix
|
1:38.044
|
43
|
|
21.
|
Marvin Kirchhofer
|
ART Grand Prix
|
1:38.070
|
24
|
|
22.
|
Denis Nagulin
|
Trident
|
1:38.167
|
28
|
|
23.
|
Ryan Cullen
|
Marussia Manor Racing
|
1:38.450
|
31
|
|
24.
|
Ivan Taranov
|
Hilmer Motorsport
|
1:38.983
|
33
|
|
25.
|
Alfonso Celis Jr
|
Status Grand Prix
|
1:38.989
|
38
|
|
26.
|
Carmen Jorda
|
Koiranen GP
|
1:41.076
|
14
|