Photo: Sam Bloxham/GP2 Series Media Service
Nigel Melker ended GP2 pre-season testing for 2015 with the best time of the final afternoon in Bahrain, just a day and a half after returning to a GP2 car for the first time for over two years.
The Dutchman has been testing for the Hilmer Motorsport team this week, although he didn’t get onto the circuit until Thursday afternoon.
He claimed the top spot in the final session following a red flag with around half an hour to go when Norman Nato stopped on track due to a fire.
Melker was 0.067s quicker than second-placed Sergey Sirotkin.?Rio Haryanto took third ahead of Pierre Gasly, whose morning benchmark – nearly two seconds faster than Melker’s afternoon time – was the best of the three-day test.
Nato finished up fifth despite his problem, ahead of Alex Lynn and Robert Visoiu. Melker’s fellow Hilmer tester Nick Yelloly was eighth, with Rene Binder and Andre Negrao rounding out the top ten.
The first round of the GP2 season begins in Bahrain in two weeks’ time.
Afternoon session results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | Nigel Melker | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:41.566 | 18 | |
| 2 | Sergey Sirotkin | Rapax | 1:41.633 | 0.067 | 12 |
| 3 | Rio Haryanto | Campos Racing | 1:41.707 | 0.141 | 39 |
| 4 | Pierre Gasly | DAMS | 1:41.797 | 0.231 | 28 |
| 5 | Norman Nato | Arden International | 1:41.970 | 0.404 | 12 |
| 6 | Alex Lynn | DAMS | 1:41.988 | 0.422 | 26 |
| 7 | Robert Visoiu | Rapax | 1:42.000 | 0.434 | 12 |
| 8 | Nick Yelloly | Hilmer Motorsport | 1:42.367 | 0.801 | 17 |
| 9 | Rene Binder | Trident | 1:42.510 | 0.944 | 21 |
| 10 | Andre Negrao | Arden International | 1:42.964 | 1.398 | 20 |
| 11 | Arthur Pic | Campos Racing | 1:42.736 | 1.170 | 36 |
| 12 | Zoel Amberg | Lazarus | 1:43.483 | 1.917 | 29 |
| 13 | Jordan King | Racing Engineering | 1:44.004 | 2.438 | 35 |
| 14 | Nobuharu Matsushita | ART Grand Prix | 1:44.061 | 2.495 | 35 |
| 15 | Nathanael Berthon | Lazarus | 1:44.115 | 2.549 | 28 |
| 16 | Stoffel Vandoorne | ART Grand Prix | 1:44.252 | 2.686 | 33 |
| 17 | Marlon Stockinger | Status Grand Prix | 1:44.506 | 2.940 | 34 |
| 18 | Daniel De Jong | MP Motorsport | 1:44.789 | 3.223 | 20 |
| 19 | Marco Sorensen | Carlin | 1:44.878 | 3.312 | 50 |
| 20 | Richie Stanaway | Status Grand Prix | 1:45.087 | 3.521 | 32 |
| 21 | Raffaele Marciello | Trident | 1:45.274 | 3.708 | 11 |
| 22 | Julian Leal | Carlin | 1:45.376 | 3.810 | 42 |
| 23 | Artem Markelov | Russian Time | 1:45.441 | 3.875 | 38 |
| 24 | Alexander Rossi | Racing Engineering | 1:45.565 | 3.999 | 58 |
| 25 | Sergio Canamasas | MP Motorsport | 1:45.842 | 4.276 | 22 |
| 26 | Mitch Evans | Russian Time | 1:45.913 | 4.347 | 26 |