Tom Dillmann tops GP2 testing Day 1 in Jerez
The day started under blue skies but in cold temperatures. As soon as the pitlane opened, the cars fed to the track but once their installation lap was done, the drivers opted to stay safely tucked away in their garages waiting for the temperatures to rise.
Rene Binder at Lazarus was the first man to set a lap time and as the track warmed up, more drivers ventured back on the circuit. A first red flag briefly halted the proceedings, courtesy of returnee Pal Varhaug at Hilmer who spun and stopped on track. At the restart, Dillmann went top, but his lap time was almost immediately bettered by Johnny Cecotto at Arden. As we entered the final hour of the morning session, Marcus Ericsson put his DAMS car at the top of the timesheets before Sergio Canamasas went off track at Turn 2 and saw his Caterham machine end in the tire barrier, prompting another red flag. When the session went live again, Carlin's Jolyon Palmer found some extra pace and nipped to the top spot, 0.09s quicker than Ericsson. There was one final interruption with three minutes left on the clock as Mitch Evans stopped his Arden car at Turn 13 following electrical issues which effectively put an end to everyone’s session. Palmer finished top ahead of Ericsson, Rene Binder, Cecotto, Stéphane Richelmi, Jake Rosenzweig, James Calado, Dillmann, Simon Trummer and Felipe Nasr.
The pitlane reopened after a two-hour lunch break, and Fabio Leimer set the early pace at the wheel of his Racing Engineering car. While the drivers mainly focused on covering race distance, Richelmi led the timesheet, but Calado improved and edged the Monegasque driver from the top spot. Just as Leimer reclaimed P1, Daniel De Jong stopped on track at Turn 7 causing a quick red flag. At the restart, Leimer was still sitting pretty at the top of the timesheet with Binder and Nasr in tow. With just twenty minutes left on the clock, Dillmann put his head down and claimed P1 ahead of Leimer, Nasr, Calado, Binder, Ericsson, De Jong, Richelmi, Robin Frijns and Cecotto.
Tomorrow’s session will start at 9am local time.
Morning results
Pos | Driver | Team | Lap time | Laps |
1. | Jolyon Palmer | Carlin | 1:25.330 | 19 |
2. | Marcus Ericsson | DAMS | 1:25.426 | 11 |
3. | Rene Binder | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:25.541 | 23 |
4. | Johnny Cecotto | Arden International | 1:25.574 | 20 |
5. | Stephane Richelmi | DAMS | 1:25.574 | 15 |
6. | Jake Rosenzweig | Barwa Addax Team | 1:25.842 | 25 |
7. | James Calado | ART Grand Prix | 1:25.911 | 18 |
8. | Tom Dillmann | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:25.922 | 12 |
9. | Simon Trummer | Rapax | 1:25.998 | 17 |
10. | Felipe Nasr | Carlin | 1:26.019 | 22 |
11. | Fabio Leimer | Racing Engineering | 1:26.066 | 8 |
12. | Mitch Evans | Arden International | 1:26.070 | 14 |
13. | Julian Leal | Racing Engineering | 1:26.209 | 17 |
14. | Kevin Giovesi | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:26.244 | 16 |
15. | Rio Haryanto | Barwa Addax Team | 1:26.398 | 20 |
16. | Robin Frijns | Trident Racing | 1:26.438 | 17 |
17. | Daniel De Jong | MP Motorsport | 1:26.443 | 9 |
18. | Daniel Abt | ART Grand Prix | 1:26.565 | 15 |
19. | Nathanael Berthon | Trident Racing | 1:26.732 | 15 |
20. | Ma Qing Hua | Caterham Racing | 1:26.990 | 11 |
21. | Pal Varhaug | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:27.926 | 17 |
22. | Sergio Canamasas | Caterham Racing | 1:31.642 | 5 |
23. | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | MP Motorsport | — | 1 |
24. | Stefano Coletti | Rapax | — | 1 |
Afternoon results
Pos | Driver | Team | Lap time | Laps |
1. | Tom Dillmann | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:25.059 | 23 |
2. | Fabio Leimer | Racing Engineering | 1:25.248 | 27 |
3. | Felipe Nasr | Carlin | 1:25.262 | 34 |
4. | James Calado | ART Grand Prix | 1:25.403 | 31 |
5. | Rene Binder | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:25.405 | 16 |
6. | Marcus Ericsson | DAMS | 1:25.480 | 33 |
7. | Daniel De Jong | MP Motorsport | 1:25.506 | 30 |
8. | Stephane Richelmi | DAMS | 1:25.585 | 28 |
9. | Robin Frijns | Trident Racing | 1:25.602 | 24 |
10. | Johnny Cecotto | Arden International | 1:25.656 | 29 |
11. | Simon Trummer | Rapax | 1:25.718 | 40 |
12. | Kevin Giovesi | Venezuela GP Lazarus | 1:25.819 | 35 |
13. | Daniel Abt | ART Grand Prix | 1:25.933 | 34 |
14. | Mitch Evans | Arden International | 1:26.116 | 32 |
15. | Stefano Coletti | Rapax | 1:26.200 | 31 |
16. | Julian Leal | Racing Engineering | 1:26.222 | 33 |
17. | Adrian Quaife-Hobbs | MP Motorsport | 1:26.405 | 39 |
18. | Sergio Canamasas | Caterham Racing | 1:26.610 | 22 |
19. | Nathanael Berthon | Trident Racing | 1:26.682 | 25 |
20. | Jolyon Palmer | Carlin | 1:27.005 | 23 |
21. | Pal Varhaug | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:27.595 | 22 |
22. | Rio Haryanto | Barwa Addax Team | 1:27.855 | 23 |
23. | Ma Qing Hua | Caterham Racing | 1:28.002 | 31 |
24. | Jake Rosenzweig | Barwa Addax Team | 1:29.492 | 25 |