Following a 34 lap stint, the Addax driver topped the morning with a best of 1:50.799, finishing one-tenth ahead of MW Arden’s Lewis Williamson.
Early pace setters Michael Christensen (RSC Mücke) and Nico Müller (Jenzer Motorsport) both completed 31 laps; all the while clocking up best laps two-tenths off of Chaves’ pace.
Second RSC Mücke entry Nigel Melker also broke into the top-five with a quick run of 1:51.082 at the opening session’s midpoint. Alexander Sims fell to 6th, albeit only 0.003 of-a-second behind Melker.
Simon Trummer (7th, MW Arden) and James Calado (8th , Lotus ART) were the busiest runners of the morning. Trummer ramped up 38 laps, while Calado was a single lap shy.
Impressive young Kiwi, Mitch Evans took 9th spot, just over four-tenths down on Chaves. Atech CRS pilot Marlon Stockinger rounded out the top-ten with a best of 1:51.179 before lunch time.
It would prove to be a busy morning – with rain clouds gathering above, the 30 car field took to the track to garner as much track time as possible; however persistent red flags put their own dampener on the test.
The rain did indeed fall during the lunch break, leaving fast lap times stranded beyond the 2 minute mark for the duration of the afternoon.
Times slowly picked up as the session went on, but it was the stunning pace of Lewis Williamson that grasped the top spot. A best of 2:06.902 in dying minutes of the day gave the MW Arden driver an eight-tenths advantage over 2nd placed Alexander Sims.
Carlin’s Tom Dillmann swiped 3rd some eleven thousandths off of Sims, with Gabby Chaves settling for 4th in the damp conditions.
Valtteri Bottas’ (Lotus ART) secured a best nearly one second off of Williamson’s pace following his 37 lap session, with the Finn pipping Marussia Manor Racing youngster Rio Haryanto by a minuscule amount.
Mitch Evans was the first in the 2:08 bracket. The MW Arden driver took 7th after a 36 lap session, finishing ahead of Michael Christensen (8th), Conor Daly (9th, Carlin) and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (10th, Marussia Manor Racing).
While some will have been disappointed that clouds drew in, for many this sort of wet testing is necessary. If a driver can build confidence in their respective machinery in difficult conditions, then the laps run through the afternoon can carry a great deal of value.
Today’s times:
Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Gabby Chaves Addax Team 1:50.799 34 2. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 1:50.894 24 3. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke Motorsport 1:50.966 31 4. Nico Muller Jenzer Motorsport 1:51.059 31 5. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke Motorsport 1:51.082 26 6. Alexander Sims Status Grand Prix 1:51.085 31 7. Simon Trummer MW Arden 1:51.127 38 8. James Calado Lotus ART 1:51.138 39 9. Mitch Evans MW Arden 1:51.154 25 10. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS GP 1:51.179 34 11. Valtteri Bottas Lotus ART 1:51.189 33 12. Andrea Caldarelli Tech 1 Racing 1:51.319 27 13. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 Racing 1:51.348 25 14. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 Racing 1:51.387 19 15. Antonio Felix Da Costa Status Grand Prix 1:51.409 28 16. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer Motorsport 1:51.630 18 17. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS GP 1:51.635 19 18. Rio Haryanto Marussia Manor Racing 1:51.713 33 19. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Marussia Manor Racing 1:51.749 19 20. Tom Dillmann Carlin 1:51.893 34 21. Thomas Hylkema Addax Team 1:52.067 30 22. Conor Daly Carlin 1:52.111 29 23. Pedro Nunes Lotus ART 1:52.134 30 24. Willi Steindl RSC Mucke Motorsport 1:52.195 36 25. Ivan Lukashevich Status Grand Prix 1:52.318 37 26. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS GP 1:52.526 32 27. Maxim Zimin Jenzer Motorsport 1:52.542 34 28. Matias Laine Marussia Manor Racing 1:52.595 15 29. Fernando Monje Addax Team 1:52.704 34 30. Kotaro Sakurai Carlin 1:54.141 8 Afternoon times Pos Driver Team Time Laps 1. Lewis Williamson MW Arden 2:06.902 34 2. Alexander Sims Status Grand Prix 2:07.708 37 3. Tom Dillmann Carlin 2:07.719 24 4. Gabby Chaves Addax Team 2:07.782 34 5. Valtteri Bottas Lotus ART 2:07.855 37 6. Rio Haryanto Marussia Manor Racing 2:07.864 27 7. Mitch Evans MW Arden 2:08.073 36 8. Michael Christensen RSC Mucke Motorsport 2:08.154 22 9. Conor Daly Carlin 2:08.156 39 10. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Marussia Manor Racing 2:08.401 26 11. Matias Laine Marussia Manor Racing 2:08.593 24 12. Marlon Stockinger Atech CRS GP 2:08.608 32 13. Nick Yelloly Atech CRS GP 2:08.667 36 14. Tamas Pal Kiss Tech 1 Racing 2:08.741 23 15. Antonio Felix Da Costa Status Grand Prix 2:08.869 36 16. Nigel Melker RSC Mucke Motorsport 2:09.181 31 17. Zoel Amberg Atech CRS GP 2:09.252 35 18. Simon Trummer MW Arden 2:09.258 36 19. Aaro Vainio Tech 1 Racing 2:09.536 17 20. James Calado Lotus ART 2:09.737 24 21. Ivan Lukashevich Status Grand Prix 2:09.750 36 22. Pedro Nunes Lotus ART 2:09.823 38 23. Maxim Zimin Jenzer Motorsport 2:09.884 27 24. Willi Steindl RSC Mucke Motorsport 2:09.969 41 25. Nico Muller Jenzer Motorsport 2:10.294 22 26. Fernando Monje Addax Team 2:10.351 21 27. Andrea Caldarelli Tech 1 Racing 2:10.364 22 28. Vittorio Ghirelli Jenzer Motorsport 2:11.061 30 29. Thomas Hylkema Addax Team 2:12.279 27 30. Kotaro Sakurai Carlin 2:12.403 16
