Test in Misano for Ghirelli, Nagulin, Campana and La Rosa

Vittorio Ghirelli

Christmas is just two days away, but the Auto GP teams keep working hard. With the 2012 season starting as early as March 10 in Monza there isn't much time to spare in order to be ready for the fight, so all the Auto GP outfits are working at full steam both at the workshops and on track.

The latter was the case of Lazarus and MLR71 who went testing at the Misano World Circuit on 20 and 21 December with two cars each.

Campana (L) and La Rosa

Lazarus, who contested the first two seasons of the Auto GP Championship, had two rookies at the wheel, Italian Vittorio Ghirelli and Russian Denis Nagulin. Both would be eligible for the Under 21 Trophy in 2012: Ghirelli is just 17 years old and after contesting GP3 in 2010 last year he was a top runner in the Eurocup and Alps championships of F.Renault 2.0, clinching 3 podium finishes; Nagulin is 19 years-old and 2011 in the F.Renault 2.0 Eurocup was his first single-seater season ever. MLR71, meanwhile, presented the same line-up of their latest sessions with Sergio Campana flanking team owner Michele La Rosa.

La Rosa

The Italian F3 Champion, at his fourth test with the team after Magione, Franciacorta and Imola, took care of the technical development work together with the engineers, while La Rosa's work was still focused on the learning process needed to make the most of a powerful and complex car as Auto GP is.

The teams were helped by the good weather, with a strong sun that helped coping with the low December temperatures and allowed the test plans to be completed. At the end of the two days the best lap times were posted by Ghirelli and Campana both with low 1'22s, a record pace for the Italian track.