R-ace GP’s Tim Tramnitz fastest in FREC pre-season testing at Barcelona

R-ace GP’s Tim Tramnitz set the pace in the first pre-season Formula Regional European Championship test at Barcelona.

The test’s first four-hour session started on Friday morning, and Santiagos Ramos led the way after 90 minutes with a 1m36.586s lap as most drivers spent the majority of their time in the pits.

Ramos had an advantage of 0.044 seconds over Alessandro Giusti, who then went to the top by 0.037s. Giusti later improved to 1m36.460s, as Roman Bilinski went second fastest.

The top positions were unchanged after the session’s halfway point, although Giusti had improved again to 1m36.207s.

Eventually the track became busy, but quickly emptied after a red flag-causing incident for Giovanni Maschio. After the session restarted a group of drivers headed out, but many of them did not then set flying laps.

The next time the track was slightly busier was at the end of hour three, as Victor Bernier went seventh fastest. Tramnitz then went out and with successive improvements moved up to fourth, third and then second with his best effort being 0.06s slower than Giusti’s.

Laurens van Hoepen sat third, 0.11s back, before going fastest by 0.074s with 36 minutes remaining. He improved again to finish on top by 0.124s over Giusti, with Tramnitz and Levente Revesz in third and fourth. The top 19 were spread by 0.828s.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli started and finished the afternoon session on top. Giusti was his sole rival in the first 25 minutes, as only 10 cars set laps, before Owen Tangavelou moved ahead by 0.014s.

Half of the field had headed out after 45 minutes, and only 20 after an hour as Lorenzo Fluxa hit trouble and red flags waved.

Sami Meguetounif went fastest once track action resumed, breaking into the 1m36s to lead Bernier and Dilano van’t Hoff.

Nikhil Bohra caused another red flag period towards the end of hour two, and few of the drivers that headed out after improved their pace.

Antonelli returned to the top with 40 minutes to go, with Ramos and Maceo Capietto rising up to third and fourth.

They were shuffled down two spots in the final 20 minutes, as Rafael Camara and Bernier both set 1m36.1s to get close to Antonelli in third and fourth. The top eight were among the 14 drivers to better their pace from session one.

Saturday began with another four-hour session, which was relatively quiet bar Maschio bringing out red flags. Tramnitz lowered the pace into the 1m35s, pipping Capietto by 0.072s and with the top 20 covered by 0.967s.

Failing to improve on their day one pace were Bernier, Joshua Duerksen, Tom Lebbon, van’t Hoff, Nicolas Baptiste and Emmo Fittipaldi.

A three-hour afternoon session closed proceedings, and Tramnitz led at the halfway point as van Hoepen brought out red flags.

Duerksen then went fastest by 0.023s ahead of Bilinski, before the next stoppage caused by Shannon Lugassy. Red flags were out again later due to Maya Weug, and after that Fittipaldi jumped up to third to become the only driver to set their fastest lap in session four.

In the final seven minutes Duerksen improved twice, while Bernier did not register laptimes due to a transponder issue.

Test results