Stoneman quickest on Day 1 of post-season testing
Carlin’s Jan Mardenborough was first onto the track in the morning session which saw a full line-up of 27 cars taking part in the test. The British driver lapped in the 1m57’s with Adderly Fong (Koiranen GP) topping the timesheets early on. There was a short delay covered by the red flags when David Fumanelli made light contact with the barrier at Turn 8 in the Jenzer Motorsport car.
As the clock ticked down and the session continued, the times tumbled and it was Stoneman who shot to P1 and headed into the 1m56’s bracket. Dino Zamparelli testing for the MW Arden outfit was a few tenths off the Koiranen GP driver, with Alex Fontana in the ART Grand Prix machine third.
GP3 Series welcomed RUSSIAN TIME to the tests – the team who’ve replaced Bamboo Engineering and they had experience at the helm in the form of Sam Bird who was on hand for some development tests. The Brit was consistent and in the top four with Kevin Korjus (Status Grand Prix) just behind.
At the checkered flag, it was Stoneman, Patric Niederhauser, Zamparelli, Bird and Korjus. Jan Mardenborough was the highest placed rookie in sixth place, ahead of Melville McKee, Alex Fontana, Roman de Beer and Emil Bernstorff.
Following GP2’s turn on track, GP3 resumed to track activity for the afternoon session. The red flags were waved for a stoppage on track with Kevin Joerg’s stricken car. ART Grand Prix’s Pierre Gasly shot to the top of the timings, first to break into the 1m55’s and remained on top for an hour until Marussia Manor Racing’s Oliver Rowland lapped a few hundredths quicker to steal P1. As the test drew to a close, fastest man from this morning Stoneman was back on it…and clocked the best time of the day to end the day on top.
With a few clouds appearing and light wind, the temperatures were slightly cooler as the session continued. At the checkered flag it finished as Stoneman, Gasly (fastest rookie), Rowland, Bird, Korjus, Fontana, Marvin Kirchhofer, Mardenborough, de Beer and Nick Cassidy.
Day 2 of testing for GP3 will run with the same schedule as today with the morning test at 09.00 – 11.30 and the afternoon 15.00 – 17.30 (local times).
Day 1 Test – Morning Session
| Pos | Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps |
| 1. | Dean Stoneman | Koiranen GP | 1:56.278 | 18 |
| 2. | Patric Niederhauser | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:56.584 | 19 |
| 3. | Dino Zamparelli | MW Arden | 1:56.649 | 18 |
| 4. | Sam Bird | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:56.711 | 16 |
| 5. | Kevin Korjus | Status Grand Prix | 1:56.837 | 16 |
| 6. | Jan Mardenborough | Carlin | 1:56.858 | 22 |
| 7. | Melville McKee | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:56.921 | 25 |
| 8. | Alex Fontana | ART Grand Prix | 1:56.927 | 20 |
| 9. | Roman de Beer | Trident | 1:56.986 | 27 |
| 10. | Emil Bernstorff | Carlin | 1:57.067 | 24 |
| 11. | Pierre Gasly | ART Grand Prix | 1:57.198 | 19 |
| 12. | Marvin Kirchhofer | MW Arden | 1:57.211 | 20 |
| 13. | Oliver Rowland | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:57.430 | 12 |
| 14. | Edward Jones | MW Arden | 1:57.511 | 16 |
| 15. | Jimmy Eriksson | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:57.635 | 8 |
| 16. | Adderly Fong | Koiranen GP | 1:57.665 | 20 |
| 17. | Emanuele Zonzini | ART Grand Prix | 1:57.670 | 19 |
| 18. | David Fumanelli | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:57.881 | 15 |
| 19. | Jordan King | Status Grand Prix | 1:57.883 | 5 |
| 20. | Nick Cassidy | Status Grand Prix | 1:58.023 | 19 |
| 21. | Nicholas Latifi | Carlin | 1:58.349 | 21 |
| 22. | Santiago Urrutia | Koiranen GP | 1:58.701 | 21 |
| 23. | Ryan Cullen | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:58.771 | 26 |
| 24. | Kevin Joerg | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:59.080 | 26 |
| 25. | Ivan Taranov | Trident | 1:59.225 | 27 |
| 26. | Juan Branger | Trident | 2.02.334 | 20 |
| 27. | Kuba Dalewski | RUSSIAN TIME | 2:03.730 | 6 |
Day 1 Test – Afternoon Session
| Pos | Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps |
| 1. | Dean Stoneman | Koiranen GP | 1:55.829 | 25 |
| 2. | Pierre Gasly | ART Grand Prix | 1:55.940 | 29 |
| 3. | Oliver Rowland | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:55.967 | 17 |
| 4. | Sam Bird | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:56.028 | 27 |
| 5. | Kevin Korjus | Status Grand Prix | 1:56.419 | 24 |
| 6. | Alex Fontana | ART Grand Prix | 1:56.432 | 25 |
| 7. | Marvin Kirchhofer | MW Arden | 1:56.468 | 26 |
| 8. | Jan Mardenborough | Carlin | 1:56.469 | 33 |
| 9. | Roman de Beer | Trident | 1:56.549 | 23 |
| 10. | Nick Cassidy | Status Grand Prix | 1:56..603 | 16 |
| 11. | Patric Niederhauser | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:56.614 | 24 |
| 12. | Dino Zamparelli | MW Arden | 1:56.628 | 25 |
| 13. | Adderly Fong | Koiranen GP | 1:56.653 | 25 |
| 14. | Emil Bernstorff | Carlin | 1:56.678 | 33 |
| 15. | Edward Jones | MW Arden | 1:56.845 | 23 |
| 16. | Jimmy Eriksson | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:56.904 | 28 |
| 17. | Emanuele Zonzini | ART Grand Prix | 1:57.019 | 29 |
| 18. | Melville McKee | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:57.247 | 23 |
| 19. | David Fumanelli | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:57.269 | 20 |
| 20. | Jordan King | Status Grand Prix | 1:57.274 | 26 |
| 21. | Santiago Urrutia | Koiranen GP | 1:57.295 | 22 |
| 22. | Nicholas Latifi | Carlin | 1:57.381 | 30 |
| 23. | Ryan Cullen | Marussia Manor Racing | 1:57.675 | 25 |
| 24. | Ivan Taranov | Trident | 1:57.978 | 30 |
| 25. | Juan Branger | Trident | 1:58.652 | 34 |
| 26. | Kevin Joerg | Jenzer Motorsport | 1:58.798 | 14 |
| 27. | Kuba Dalewski | RUSSIAN TIME | 1:59.116 | 30 |