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EUROSERIES 3000 TRIO MAKES AN IMPRESSION IN GP2 MAIN SERIES TESTING IN JEREZ A huge succes: there's no other way to describe the participation of the three leading pilots of the Euroseries 3000 by PartyPoker in the GP2 Main Series testing. Fabio ...
Edited: Dec 13, 2009, 12:45 AM
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EUROSERIES 3000 TRIO MAKES AN IMPRESSION IN GP2 MAIN SERIES TESTING IN JEREZ
A huge succes: there's no other way to describe the participation of the three leading pilots of the Euroseries 3000 by PartyPoker in the GP2 Main Series testing. Fabio Onidi, Marco Bonanomi and Will Bratt non only took advantage of the test session in order to get acquainted with the Dallara car, but they also impressed the paddock with top notch performances.
Onidi, the leader in the Euroseries 3000 standings, was fielded by Scuderia Coloni in the first day, the only one in which the drivers have to start with new tyres. Given the little experience that he had in the car (just a test one year ago) this was a little disadvantage for the Italian driver, who decided not to go for a stunning laptime in the morning. Instead, he did some long runs, in order to work on the pace. Things changed in the afternoon when Fabio started pushing and, even if the Jerez track is famous for being slower in the second part of the day, managed to improve his laptime, reaching 1'28"369.
On the second and third day, the track saw the debut of Will Bratt with Scuderia Coloni. The brit decided to use the first day to find the right feeling with the car, attacking on the following one. On the 8th of October the track was wet in the morning, and Will was fifth fastest and first among the rookies, confirming his great car control when the track is in tricky conditions. In the afternoon the brit was just unlucky as his engine blew while he was starting for his fast lap on fresh rubber. Despite this odds, Will managed to clinch the 13th fastest time (1'27"137).
Marco Bonanomi was also on track on the third and last day of testing. Among the three Euroseries 3000 drivers, he was the only one who had never driven the Dallara Main Series car. So, he was very upset about the rain that took off from him a lot of useful time to know the car better and understand its behaviour on a dry asphalt. Despite this, Bonanomi managed to be immediately staggering fast in the afternoon when the track dried out, riding as a bullet and reaching the 6th fastest time of the day in 1'26"607.
Now the three are heading to Monza when, on October 17 and 18 the last two races of the series will decide the champion, who will win a fully funded season in GP2 Asia.
Fabio Onidi: "I'm satisfied about the test, mainly because I worked very well with Scuderia Coloni. I knew that running on the first day, so having new tyres from the very first lap, wasn't meant to be easy given my little experience with the car, so in the morning I concentrated on the pace doing some long runs. In the afternoon I used the morning tyres in order to test with old rubber and I went on until there was nothing left to grip on. That's the reason why, when I decided to put on fresh tyres to go for a fast lap, my benchmarks were a little altered so I wasn't able to take the most out of them. Anyway I improved my time so I can be happy about that".
Marco Bonanomi: "Getting rain on your first GP2 Main Series test is something really unlucky. Anyway, the car had the right setup from the previous testing days, so when the track dried out I was able to push immediately. I could have been a little faster but, having no experience in the car, I thought that keeping a safety margin was a good idea. I was really impressed by the car: I thought that it could be similar to the GP2 Asia one, but that's definitely something different, with more grip and really harder on the driver's neck".
Will Bratt: "It's been great to be back in a GP2 car and although our running was affected by the hydraulic issue on the first day and then the engine failure on my final afternoon, I'm pleased with how things went in general and I think we were able to prove I deserve a place on the GP2 grid next year", said Will. To be fifth fastest on Thursday morning in difficult, wet conditions was fantastic especially being the best of the rookies. In the afternoon I was 12th fastest on my first set of tyres, even though I lost time on my best lap. We were confident we could be in the top eight overall but before I was able to get a run on my last set of new tyres, the engine blew so that was the end of the day for us".
-credit: eu3000
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