RSC Mücke Motorsport's Nigel Melker was the fastest man out on track at Circuit de Catalunya yesterday, after setting the best time of 1:37.882 on the final day of 2011 official GP3 Series testing.
Once again the teams had to contend with low temperatures at the Spanish circuit. When the lights turned green and the pitlane opened, the drivers all fed out onto the track for their initial installation laps in the cool conditions.
Jenzer Motorsport's Nico Müller briefly held on to the top spot before Lotus ART's Valtteri Bottas continued his good form and knocked the Swiss into second, with James Calado soon following suit. Just before the thirty minute marker, the teams began switching to fresh rubber and the times started to drop consistently.
Alexander Sims was first to get to grips and post a quick time which was swiftly beaten by his Status Grand Prix teammate Antonio Felix Da Costa. RSC Mücke Motorsport's Michael Christensen slipped into third ahead of Tech 1 Racing's rookie Andrea Caldarelli, Bottas and Calado. During the next hour, Marussia Manor Racing's Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, Da Costa and Sims all took turns at the top until RSC Mücke Motorsport's Nigel Melker clocked a laptime quick enough to put him ahead of the field.
The Dutch driver's time went unbeaten for the remainder of the session. Sims finished second fastest ahead of Müller, MW Arden's Mitch Evans and Quaife-Hobbs. Despite a threat of rain over the lunch break, the afternoon stayed dry and bright for the final pre-season test session of 2011. For the first half of the session, it was Valtteri Bottas heading up the field with a 1:39.773 lap until midway through the afternoon when Melker edged ahead of the field once more. As usual, the Spanish track was slower in the afternoon than the morning, giving drivers another opportunity to concentrate on race simulations and setups.
The teams were also able to evaluate the tyre degradation and see how it will play a role in the upcoming season. The final hour of the day saw Quaife-Hobbs take over at the top of the time sheet with a 1:38.625 lap, and with the rest of the field unable to match his pace, the British driver's time went unbeaten.
A red flag two minutes from the end of the session ended proceedings prematurely, and the chequered flag was shown for the final time in GP3 2011 pre-season testing. Müller finished in second spot ahead of Marussia Manor Racing's Rio Haryanto, Bottas and Christensen.
The GP3 teams will be back on track in three weeks time for Round 1 of the 2011 season in Istanbul, Turkey.
