Pulcini edges Ilott on first Barcelona GP3 test day
Campos Racing driver Leonardo Pulcini topped the timesheets on the opening day of the final GP3 test of the pre-season at Barcelona by just 0.012 seconds from Callum Ilott.
Leonardo Pulcini, Campos Racing
GP3 Series Media Service
Pulcini left it late to knock ART Grand Prix man Ilott off the top of the times, setting a best effort of 1m32.785s in the final five minutes of an extended afternoon session.
A dirty track from last weekend's World Rallycross round meant drivers did not attempt any slick-tyre runs until the final part of the morning session, and the lack of early running prompted a one-hour extension to the afternoon test.
ART's Jake Hughes was the first driver to break the 1m33s barrier with a 1m32.971s, but Ilott knocked his teammate off the top spot with a little under half an hour to run.
Another ART driver, Nikita Mazepin, also beat Hughes' time to slot into third, some 0.051s slower than Ilott and within a tenth of Pulcini's benchmark.
Hughes remained fourth, while Giuliano Alesi was the best of the Trident contingent in fifth place despite causing a red flag by going off in the gravel in the afternoon.
Antoine Hubert (ART) also brought afternoon proceedings to a halt by hitting the wall, and finished the day in seventh behind Pedro Piquet (Trident).
David Beckmann (Jenzer), morning pacesetter Dorian Boccolacci (Trident) and former Red Bull junior Niko Kari (MP Motorsport) rounded off the top 10, with all 20 drivers improving in the afternoon session.
MP Motorsport newcomer Will Palmer was 13th-fastest in his first day of GP3 testing action, one place behind Sauber Formula 1 test driver Tatiana Calderon (Jenzer).
Testing times:
Pos. | Driver | Team | Morning | Afternoon |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Leonardo Pulcini | Campos Racing | 1'36.692 | 1'32.785 |
2 | Callum Ilott | ART Grand Prix | 1'46.167 | 1'32.797 |
3 | Nikita Mazepin | ART Grand Prix | 1'45.491 | 1'32.848 |
4 | Jake Hughes | ART Grand Prix | 1'44.814 | 1'32.971 |
5 | Giuliano Alesi | Trident | 1'52.526 | 1'33.014 |
6 | Pedro Piquet | Trident | 1'50.917 | 1'33.039 |
7 | Anthoine Hubert | ART Grand Prix | 1'43.650 | 1'33.337 |
8 | David Beckmann | Jenzer Motorsport | 1'36.945 | 1'33.387 |
9 | Dorian Boccolacci | MP Motorsport | 1'34.964 | 1'33.483 |
10 | Niko Kari | MP Motorsport | 1'35.567 | 1'33.652 |
11 | Simo Laaksonen | Campos Racing | 1'37.618 | 1'33.749 |
12 | Tatiana Calderon | Jenzer Motorsport | 1'35.241 | 1'33.803 |
13 | Will Palmer | MP Motorsport | 1'36.679 | 1'33.898 |
14 | Julien Falchero | Arden International | 1'52.674 | 1'34.063 |
15 | Ryan Tveter | Trident | 1'51.413 | 1'34.116 |
16 | Juan Manuel Correa | Jenzer Motorsport | 1'35.806 | 1'34.139 |
17 | Gabriel Aubry | Arden International | 1'47.771 | 1'34.313 |
18 | Diego Menchaca | Campos Racing | 1'40.113 | 1'34.603 |
19 | Joey Mawson | Arden International | 1'47.578 | 1'35.239 |
20 | Alessio Lorandi | Trident | 1'45.337 | 1'35.254 |
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