Photo: Xavi Bonilla / Dutch Photo Agency
ART Grand Prix’s Gregoire Saucy edged R-ace GP’s Hadrien David in free practice for the second Formula Regional European Championship round of the season at Barcelona.
The pair were comfortably faster than the rest of the 34-car field, as they had been in pre-season testing, with KIC Motorsport’s Patrik Pasma four tenths of a second back in third. The same gap covered third to 10th place.
David and his R-ace team-mates started the session on top, setting laps in the low 1m43s, before the Prema drivers went out together and rose to the top and then MP Motorsport returnee Franco Colapinto went fastest with a 1m42.670s.
Colapinto, who missed the season opener due to clashing European Le Mans Series commitments, remained the pacesetter until the final 10 minutes when Pasma became the first driver to break into the 1m41s.
Saucy and David then went significantly faster with five minutes to go, setting the order at the top.
Arden’s William Alatalo was 0.005s slower than Pasma in third, and Zane Maloney made it two R-ace cars in the top five.
Next up were the three Prema drivers, with Isack Hadjar (R-ace) and Lorenzo Fluxa (Van Amersfoort Racing) completing the top 10.
ART’s Thomas ten Brinke, who missed the season opener due to a positive COVID-19 test, was within a second of the pace in 13th place.
Free practice results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregoire Saucy | ART Grand Prix | 1m41.288s |
| 2 | Hadrien David | R-ace GP | +0.054s |
| 3 | Patrik Pasma | KIC Motorsport | +0.420s |
| 4 | William Alatalo | Arden | +0.425s |
| 5 | Zane Maloney | R-ace GP | +0.524s |
| 6 | Dino Beganovic | Prema | +0.528s |
| 7 | Paul Aron | Prema | +0.718s |
| 8 | David Vidales | Prema | +0.789s |
| 9 | Isack Hadjar | R-ace GP | +0.807s |
| 10 | Lorenzo Fluxa | Van Amersfoort Racing | +0.820s |
| 11 | Gabriele Mini | ART Grand Prix | +0.921s |
| 12 | Andrea Rosso | FA Racing by MP | +0.934s |
| 13 | Thomas ten Brinke | ART Grand Prix | +0.951s |
| 14 | Franco Colapinto | MP Motorsport | +1.193s |
| 15 | Eduardo Barrichello | JD Motorsport | +1.242s |
| 16 | Francesco Pizzi | Van Amersfoort Racing | +1.316s |
| 17 | Oliver Goethe | MP Motorsport | +1.418s |
| 18 | Alex Quinn | Arden | +1.554s |
| 19 | Gabriel Bortoleto | FA Racing by MP | +1.567s |
| 20 | Alexandre Bardinon | FA Racing by MP | +1.825s |
| 21 | Pietro Delli Guanti | Monolite Racing | +2.058s |
| 22 | Mari Boya | Van Amersfoort Racing | +2.083s |
| 23 | Belen Garcia | G4 Racing | +2.248s |
| 24 | Nicola Marinangeli | Arden | +2.261s |
| 25 | Alessandro Famularo | G4 Racing | +2.376s |
| 26 | Elias Seppanen | KIC Motorsport | +2.448s |
| 27 | Axel Gnos | G4 Racing | +2.474s |
| 28 | Emidio Pesce | DR Formula | +2.665s |
| 29 | Brad Benavides | DR Formula | +2.713s |
| 30 | Nico Gohler | KIC Motorsport | +2.806s |
| 31 | Kas Haverkort | MP Motorsport | +3.217s |
| 32 | Jasin Ferati | Monolite Racing | +3.270s |
| 33 | Tommy Smith | JD Motorsport | +3.286s |
| 34 | Lena Buhler | R-ace GP | +3.538s |