3ος ο Ευτύχιος Έλληνας στα δοκιμαστικά της GP3 στη Valencia!

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https://www.gp3series.com/News/2012/...Valencia-test/

MW ArdenΆs Matias Laine fastest in mid season testing in Spain

Following the first two rounds of the 2012 GP3 Series, the cars returned to action, this time for a two day mid-season test at Valencia. It was FinlandΆs Matias Laine who was quickest in the morning session with a time of 1:26.610 squeezing out Daniel AbtΆs Lotus GP with Nico Muller quickest in the afternoon.

There was a new face to the driving line-up with Samin Gomez from Venezuela testing for Jenzer Motorsport and making her debut in a GP3 car, and thus making it four female drivers competing in the test! Former GP3 driver Muller was welcomed back as he got behind the wheel of the Trident Racing car for testing purposes. Alex Brundle misses this the two day session in Valencia due to Le Mans duty.

Under hazy sunshine the session got underway with a lot of humidity early on. The trio of MW Arden cars were first to take to the track to put down their installation laps as everyone wanted to get to grips with the Spanish circuit. Laine went P1 early on until Marlon Stockinger (Status Grand Prix) took over at the top of the timesheets.

The session was red flagged when Fabiano Machado (Marussia Manor Racing) had a visit to the gravel trap and once the track had gone back to green flag conditions it was his teammate Tio Ellinas who shot to the top of the standings. Laine then went fastest and remained top of the timings until the chequered flag. However, there was a group of drivers close in pursuit to challenge his best time of the morning, with Laine edging out Abt by a mere 0.003s. Ellinas was also just 0.019s behind the Finn with David Fumanelli (MW Arden), Stockinger, Antonio Felix Da Costa (Carlin), Conor Daly (Lotus GP), Patric Niederhauser (Jenzer Motorsport), Mitch Evans (MW Arden) and Muller completed the top ten. Laine and Vainio stopped on the circuit in the final moments of the test with technical issues.

William Buller set the initial pace at the beginning of the afternoon session until Felix Da Costa bettered his Carlin teammateΆs time to go P1. There was a brief interruption of a red flag after Machado stopped on the track and after one hour down, it was Daly who jumped to the top of the timesheets and retained that place during the mid-point. As the drivers concentrated on long runs and the temperature increased, Muller produced a hot lap to beat DalyΆs time at the head of the standings.

Ocean Racing TechnologyΆs Kevin Ceccon progressed to P3 in the final 20 minutes, closely followed by Ellinas who went P2. Felix Da Costa then went P1 with 15 minutes to go, half a second quicker than his rivals. Fumanelli also improved to go P4 as the times tumbled down in the dying moments. The fight to be on top was not over as Muller reclaimed his position at the head of the standings with eight minutes remaining, recording a laptime of 1:26.865, two tenths slower than LaineΆs quickest time of the morning. The top ten finished as Muller, Felix Da Costa, Ellinas, Fumanelli, Ceccon, Daly, Robert Visoiu (Jenzer Motorsport), Laine and Abt.

GP3 Series is next on track tomorrow for day two of the Valencia test. The session will run from 09.00 – 12.00 with a one hour break and the afternoon session running from 13.00 – 16.00.

Morning session

Driver Team Laptime Laps

1. Matias Laine MW Arden 1:26.610 32

2. Daniel Abt Lotus GP 1:26.613 40

3. Tio Ellinas Marussia Manor Racing 1:26.629 21

4. David Fumanelli MW Arden 1:26.686 35

5. Marlon Stockinger Status Grand Prix 1:26.725 25

6. Antonio Felix Da Costa Carlin 1:26.817 34

7. Conor Daly Lotus GP 1:26.836 25

8. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer Motorsport 1:26.932 28

9. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1:27.134 31

10. Nico Muller Trident Racing 1:27.317 25

11. Robert Visoiu Jenzer Motorsport 1:27.323 23

12. William Buller Carlin 1:27.332 31

13. Aaro Vainio Lotus GP 1:27.516 30

14. Kevin Ceccon Ocean Racing Technology 1:27.524 28

15. Tamas Pal Kiss Atech CRS GP 1:27.579 32

16. Antonio Spavone Trident Racing 1:27.651 39

17. Dmitry Suranovich Marussia Manor Racing 1:28.043 24

18. Fabiano Machado Marussia Manor Racing 1:28.142 25

19. Vicky Piria Trident Racing 1:28.217 36

20. Ethan Ringel Atech CRS GP 1:29.047 26

21. Alice Powell Status Grand Prix 1:29.067 34

22. Samin Gomez Jenzer Motorsport 1:29.179 29

23. John Wartique Atech CRS GP 1:29.493 33

24. Robert Cregan Ocean Racing Technology 1:29.672 27

25. Carmen Jorda Ocean Racing Technology 1:30.512 21



Afternoon Session

Driver Team Laptime Laps

1. Nico Muller Trident Racing 1:26.865 33

2. Antonio Felix Da Costa Carlin 1:27.046 34

3. Tio Ellinas Marussia Manor Racing 1:27.663 26

4. David Fumanelli MW Arden 1:27.721 29

5. Kevin Ceccon Ocean Racing Technology 1:27.723 17

6. Conor Daly Lotus GP 1:27.785 35

7. Robert Visoiu Jenzer Motorsport 1:27.842 32

8. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1:27.870 21

9. Matias Laine MW Arden 1:27.912 31

10. Daniel Abt Lotus GP 1:27.982 32

11. William Buller Carlin 1:27.990 28

12. Aaro Vainio Lotus GP 1:28.059 42

13. Patric Niederhauser Jenzer Motorsport 1:28.144 27

14. Dmitry Suranovich Marussia Manor Racing 1:28.417 27

15. Ethan Ringel Atech CRS GP 1:28.515 26

16. Antonio Spavone Trident Racing 1:28.693 32

17. Tamas Pal Kiss Atech CRS GP 1:28.901 32

18. Vicky Piria Trident Racing 1:29.003 29

19. Alice Powell Status Grand Prix 1:29.022 16

20. John Wartique Atech CRS GP 1:29.045 23

21. Samin Gomez Jenzer Motorsport 1:29.132 33

22. Fabiano Machado Marussia Manor Racing 1:29.481 26

23. Marlon Stockinger Status Grand Prix 1:29.694 10

24. Robert Cregan Ocean Racing Technology 1:29.920 24

25. Carmen Jorda Ocean Racing Technology 1:31.040 22