Josef Kral and Michael Herck were the pace setters today on the slightly shortened layout of the Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi.
Kral was quickest in the morning in his Arden International machine with a lap of 1:36.609, eventually finishing the session three-tenths quicker than next man Marcus Ericsson (iSport International). Spain’s Dani Clos made it three drivers from three different teams at the top following a 32-lap run, that saw the Racing Engineering driver register a best of 1:37.000.
Lotus-ART driver, Jules Bianchi, stayed near the top throughout the morning, before eventually dropping down to 4th (half-a-second slower than Kral) ahead of the leading Scuderia Coloni driver, Michael Herck. Kral’s teammate and 2010 Formula 2 Series runner-up, Jolyon Palmer claimed sixth spot, nearly 0.8 of-a-second shy of the fastest lap. Oliver Turvey registered the most tours of the Abu Dhabi course; notching 40 laps before lunch. Unfortunately, Turvey could do no better than 1:37.961 – a time that left the Cumbrian 18th overall.
With three red flags, the session was a stop-start affair, but thankfully suffered none of the poor weather conditions that blighted last week’s running.
Come the afternoon session, Michael Herck jumped to the head of the timing list in Abu Dhabi; however it proved to be an incredibly close run for the test honours.
The Romanian was fastest with a lap 1:36.467, but reigning GP2 Asia Champion, Davide Valsecchi and Marcus Ericsson both registered a time 0.010 of-a-second slower than Herck. Jules Bianchi had another positive run in his Renault-powered Dallara – of his 28 laps, the Frenchman had a best of 1:37.592, leaving him only a few short hundredths quicker than Dani Clos. Rodolfo Gonzalez made a visit to the top-six, despite only managing nineteen laps; the Trident Racing pilot just edged Josef Kral out of the headlines.
Several drivers broke the 30-lap barrier in the afternoon, with the DAMS pair of Romain Grosjean (12th) and Pål Verhaug (21st) and Barwa Addax racer Charles Pic (26th) all managing 36 tours.
Three further red flags tampered with the session, however disruptions did not last long. The test continues tomorrow.
Morning Session
| Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps | |
| 1. | Josef Kral | Arden International | 1:36.609 | 26 |
| 2. | Marcus Ericsson | iSport International | 1:36.912 | 21 |
| 3. | Dani Clos | Rcaing Engineering | 1:37.000 | 32 |
| 4. | Jules Bianchi | Lotus ART | 1:37.114 | 23 |
| 5. | Michael Herck | Scuderia Coloni | 1:37.240 | 25 |
| 6. | Jolyon Palmer | Arden International | 1:37.389 | 29 |
| 7. | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Trident Racing | 1:37.484 | 22 |
| 8. | Max Chilton | Carlin | 1:37.495 | 18 |
| 9. | Charles Pic | Barwa Addax Team | 1:37.503 | 30 |
| 10. | Giedo van der Garde | Barwa Addax Team | 1:37.592 | 21 |
| 11. | Esteban Gutierrez | Lotus ART | 1:37.715 | 21 |
| 12. | Sam Bird | iSport International | 1:37.725 | 17 |
| 13. | Stefano Coletti | Trident Racing | 1:37.809 | 27 |
| 14. | Julian Leal | Rapax | 1:37.814 | 24 |
| 15. | Andrea Caldarelli | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:37.822 | 36 |
| 16. | Davide Valsecchi | Team AirAsia | 1:37.846 | 21 |
| 17. | Nathanael Berthon | Racing Engineering | 1:37.876 | 32 |
| 18. | Oliver Turvey | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:37.961 | 40 |
| 19. | Fabio Leimer | Rapax | 1:38.077 | 20 |
| 20. | Luiz Razia | Team AirAsia | 1:38.095 | 24 |
| 21. | Mikhail Aleshin | Carlin | 1:38.098 | 24 |
| 22. | Fairuz Fauzy | Super Nova Racing | 1:38.226 | 11 |
| 23. | Romain Grosjean | Dams | 1:38.421 | 24 |
| 24. | James Jakes | Scuderia Coloni | 1:38.622 | 14 |
| 25. | Pål Varhaug | Dams | 1:39.438 | 30 |
| 26. | Johnny Cecotto | Super Nova Racing | 1:40.006 | 6 |
Afternoon Session
| Driver | Team | Laptime | Laps | |
| 1. | Michael Herck | Scuderia Coloni | 1:36.467 | 27 |
| 2. | Davide Valsecchi | Team AirAsia | 1:36.477 | 27 |
| 3. | Marcus Ericsson | iSport International | 1:36.477 | 22 |
| 4. | Jules Bianchi | Lotus ART | 1:36.592 | 28 |
| 5. | Dani Clos | Racing Engineering | 1:36.655 | 24 |
| 6. | Rodolfo Gonzalez | Trident Racing | 1:36.826 | 19 |
| 7. | Josef Kral | Arden International | 1:36.834 | 28 |
| 8. | Esteban Gutierrez | Lotus ART | 1:36.907 | 35 |
| 9. | Max Chilton | Carlin | 1:36.908 | 16 |
| 10. | James Jakes | Scuderia Coloni | 1:37.022 | 22 |
| 11. | Sam Bird | iSport International | 1:37.030 | 32 |
| 12. | Romain Grosjean | Dams | 1:37.076 | 36 |
| 13. | Luiz Razia | Team AirAsia | 1:37.147 | 27 |
| 14. | Andrea Caldarelli | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:37.155 | 21 |
| 15. | Johnny Cecotto | Super Nova Racing | 1:37.226 | 27 |
| 16. | Fairuz Fauzy | Super Nova Racing | 1:37.231 | 28 |
| 17. | Fabio Leimer | Rapax | 1:37.304 | 32 |
| 18. | Oliver Turvey | Ocean Racing Technology | 1:37.305 | 16 |
| 19. | Stefano Coletti | Trident Racing | 1:37. 331 | 26 |
| 20. | Mikhail Aleshin | Carlin | 1:37.419 | 24 |
| 21. | Pål Varhaug | Dams | 1:37.734 | 36 |
| 22. | Jolyon Palmer | Arden International | 1:37.912 | 9 |
| 23. | Julian Leal | Rapax | 1:38.059 | 23 |
| 24. | Nathanael Berthon | Racing Engineering | 1:38.523 | 24 |
| 25. | Giedo van der Garde | Barwa Addax Team | 1:39.176 | 31 |
| 26. | Charles Pic | Barwa Addax Team | 1:39.495 | 36 |
