Marcus Ericsson tops Day 1 in Jerez

Marcus Ericsson

Marcus Ericsson put his experience and driving skills to good use today at the wheel of 2012 Champions DAMS car as he topped the timing sheet in Jerez in a trouble free afternoon session. Earlier in the morning, it was Felipe Nasr at Carlin who lead the way.

The final GP2 Series post-season test session opened today in foggy conditions and it was red flagged within the first thirty minutes as visibility was challenging at turns 6 and 7. When the morning session resumed ten minutes later, the track conditions were still a bit tricky and many drivers opted to wait in the garages until the sun made a much awaited appearance. Jolyon Palmer at the wheel of a Lotus GP car claimed the early top spot ahead of Stephane Richelmi (Trident).

As the track conditions improved, most cars fed onto the track and it was Ericsson who topped the timing sheet, 0.7s clear from his teammate for the day Rio Haryanto. Both men dipped under the 1m28s barrier with Nigel Melker (Racing Engineering) in tow. Julian Leal at Trident found some extra pace and moved up to P2.

Nasr

In the final thirty minutes, Carlin’s Nasr went quickest in 1:26.810, 0.08s faster than Richelmi. Johnny Cecotto at Carlin moved up to P3, but in the closing minutes, Stefano Coletti (Rapax) and Ericsson edged out the Venezuelan to take P3 and P4 respectively. Fabio Onidi (Coloni), Mitch Evans (Arden), Haryanto, Kevin Giovesi (Lazarus) and Alexander Sims (Addax) rounded out the top ten.

The sun came out to play as the afternoon session started. Coletti set the early pace but Cecotto and Sims both improved, the Carlin man one tenth ahead of the Addax driver. As the clock ticked down and drivers used as much track time as possible, Nasr went top seven tenths faster than Haryanto who had moved up to P2. The rest of the field played catch up with the Brazilian with Cecotto, Daniel Juncadella (Rapax), Alexander Rossi (Caterham) and Coletti all moving up to P2 and edging out each other.

In the final hour, the skies became greyer and the temperatures dropped slightly. Coletti went four hundredths quicker than Nasr, but the Monegasque driver’s time was then improved by Fabio Onidi at Coloni. With thirty minutes left on the clock, Ericsson broke under the 1m27s barrier followed closely by Sims. At the checkered flag, Giovesi finished third ahead of Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Arden), Richelmi, Onidi, Cecotto, Coletti, Nasr and Haryanto.

Tomorrow’s session will start at 9am local time.

Morning results

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Felipe Nasr DAMS 1:26.810 25
2. Stephane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:26.898 33
3. Stefano Coletti Rapax 1:26.926 22
4. Marcus Ericsson DAMS 1:26.934 21
5. Johnny Cecotto Carlin 1:27.110 23
6. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:27.308 23
7. Mitch Evans Arden International 1:27.426 26
8. Rio Haryanto DAMS 1:27.427 25
9. Kevin Giovesi Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:27.553 24
10. Alexander Sims Barwa Addax Team 1:27.562 26
11. Daniel De Jong Scuderia Coloni 1:27.575 22
12. Nigel Melker Racing Engineering 1:27.664 20
13. Alexander Rossi Caterham Racing 1:27.767 25
14. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Arden International 1:27.772 28
15. Jolyon Palmer Lotus GP 1:27.791 30
16. Daniel Juncadella Rapax 1:27.795 36
17. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:27.801 28
18. Sergio Canamasas iSport International 1:27.827 33
19. Daniel Abt Lotus GP 1:27.861 26
20. Simon Trummer Caterham Racing 1:27,962 24
21. Rene Binder Racing Engineering 1:28.034 26
22. Kevin Mirocha Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:28.210 33
23. Jake Rosenzweig Barwa Addax Team 1:28.682 23
24. Jolyon Palmer iSport International 1:52.368 1
25. Ramon Pinero Ocean Racing Technology 2:00.189 1

Afternoon results

Pos Driver Team Time Laps
1. Marcus Ericsson DAMS 1:26.717 28
2. Alexander Sims Barwa Addax Team 1:26.883 36
3. Kevin Giovesi Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:27.043 25
4. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Arden International 1:27.059 25
5. Stéphane Richelmi Trident Racing 1:27.111 44
6. Fabio Onidi Scuderia Coloni 1:27.114 24
7. Johnny Cecotto Carlin 1:27.135 23
8. Stefano Coletti Rapax 1:27.162 22
9. Felipe Nasr Carlin 1:27.166 22
10. Rio Haryanto DAMS 1:27.188 26
11. Alexander Rossi Caterham Racing 1:27.257 30
12. Kevin Mirocha Venezuela GP Lazarus 1:27.293 28
13. Jolyon Palmer Lotus GP 1:27.324 41
14. Julian Leal Trident Racing 1:27.343 23
15. Daniel Juncadella Rapax 1:27.474 24
16. Daniel De Jong Scuderia Coloni 1:27.598 31
17. Nigel Melker Racing Engineering 1:27.645 20
18. Sergio Canamasas iSport International 1:27.755 36
19. Mitch Evans Arden International 1:27.811 28
20. Daniel Abt Lotus GP 1:27.874 39
21. Rene Binder Racing Engineering 1:27.900 29
22. Simon Trummer Caterham Racing 1:27.920 31
23. Jake Rosenzweig Barwa Addax Team 1:28.662 28