Thumbs up for the Los Arcos track
Romain Grosjean was the quickest in the Auto GP first Free Practice session in Navarra. The Frenchman stopped the clocks on 1’29”582, being the only one to get below the 1’30” mark together with Julian Leal, in really good shape with the Trident Racing car.
On a track that was slightly damp due to some light rain, with not enough rubber on the tarmac and with the drivers getting used to it minute after minute, the laptimes improved a lot throughout the session and they are expected to improve even more in the afternoon Practice.
Anyway, even if this morning’s performances can’t be a real benchmark they do give an idea of the drivers’ shape and Carlos Iaconelli showed that also after the summer break he’s the same quick driver that won three races so far.
He was third with 1’30”047, in front of Luca Filippi and Adrien Tambay, just two tenths adrift.
Good performance also for Jan Charouz: despite still suffering for an ankle injury occurred some weeks ago while he was running, the Czech driver was 7th, just 0.01 behind Piscopo.
Giacomo Ricci and Alexander Sims had a very similar debut: they used the session to get acquainted with the car, closing in P11 and P12.
Romain Grosjean: “Besides the laptime, I tried to under stand in which spots of the track you can actually make a difference: I’d say that the first par is very interesting, while the second is more ordinary. Anyway I believe that in the race we will see a good show”.
Julian Leal: “I’m happy because the car is already good and that’s the important thing. Besides this I like the track, it’s very technical and there are lots of tight corners. You have to work a lot with the steering so also being physically fit will be important”.
Jan Charouz: “I like the track, even if in some sectors it’s very twisty for a car like this. Anyway the first part is good, it reminds me of Portimao. Speaking about my conditions, I’m not really ok with the ankle, I left the crutches just on Tuesday and today it still hurts a bit. I hope it will get better during the weekend”.
Giacomo Ricci: “Obviously I will need some more laps to get used to the car. I already like the engine, it really pushes a lot, and I love the driving style required, as the back of the car is very lively. I’m sure that this afternoon things will get better”.
Alexander Sims: “I had just a few laps so I still don’t have a clear idea of the car, apart from the fact that it’s very different from the F3 I drive usually. The driving style required is very different, but I was very impressed by the power and by the mechanical grip in the slow corners, it’s really good”.
Navarra, Free Practice 1 results
1. Romain Grosjean (DAMS) 1’29″582
2. Julian Leal (Trident Racing) 1’29″954
3. Carlos Iaconelli (Durango) 1’30″047
4. Luca Filippi (SuperNova) 1’30″294
5. Adrien Tambay (Charouz-Gravity Racing) 1’30″364
6. Edoardo Piscopo (DAMS) 1’30″474
7. Jan Charouz (Charouz-Gravity Racing) 1’30″490
8. Jonny Reid (SuperNova) 1’30″903
9. Fabio Onidi (Lazarus) 1’31″110
10. Duncan Tappy (DAMS) 1’31″116
11. Giacomo Ricci (RP Motorsport) 1’31″360
12. Alexander Sims (Charouz-Gravity Racing) 1’31″578
13. Stefano Bizzarri (RP Motorsport) 1’32″506
14. Natacha Gachnang (Charouz-Gravity Racing) 1’33″393
source: autogp.org