Tsolov fastest again as F3 post-season testing moves to Barcelona

Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd

Campos Racing’s Nikola Tsolov was quickest on the opening morning of FIA Formula 3’s post-season test at Barcelona.

There was almost no track activity in the first half-hour, with Tsolov (who topped the first test at Jerez) and team-mates Mari Boya and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak the only drivers to have set laps. Tsolov led the way with a 1m27.866s that would not be beaten.

Hitech GP and Prema sent out their drivers 30 minutes in, and Joshua Dufek (Hitech) set a 1m28.626s to go third fastest. His team-mate Martinius Stenshorne went fourth, and Gerrard Xie was slower than Inthraphuvasak.

Van Amersfoort Racing was the next team to head out, after 40 minutes had passed, and Xie was shuffled down to ninth behind Theophile Nael, John Bennett and Ivan Domingues.

The track finally began to get busier 49 minutes in, with those who had already set laps returning to the pits while the rest of the field bar Trident ventured onto track.

AIX Racing’s Javier Sagrera posted a 1m28.691s to slot into fourth place, ahead of MP Motorsport’s Alessandro Giusti. Sagrera’s team-mate Jose Garfias went 12th fastest, with MP’s Bruno del Pino and Rodin Motorsport’s Louis Sharp in 13th and 14th.

Just a minute later the order had completely changed again. A 1m28.155s put MP’s Tim Tramnitz in third, ART Grand Prix’s James Wharton set a 1m28.429s in fourth, Rodin’s Freddie Slater posted a 1m28.727s to go seventh fastest and Bilinski improved in 10th.

Before the first hour of three ended there were a few more changes at the top as Prema’s drivers lapped at pace. Ugo Ugochukwu set a 1m28.225s and Noel Leon posted a 1m28.530s to go fourth and sixth fastest respectively, and Brando Badoer slotted into 13th. ART GP’s Laurens van Hoepen then found fresh air and he set a personal best to rise to seventh.

Trident’s drivers did not embark on their first run until the second hour, and Campos’s drivers joined them on track. Rafael Camara went sixth fastest with his first proper flying lap, while team-mates Noah Stromsted and Charlie Wurz dropped into 14th and 17th.

They pitted, then VAR’s drivers had the track to themselves. Others were heading out, including pacesetter Tsolov, when red flags waved 75 minutes in as Domingues struck trouble at turn three.

The session did not restart until its halfway point, and 13 drivers headed out straight away. Nobody improved though, and after 10 minutes they were mostly headlng back to the pits. After a short break the track became busy again with 72 minutes to go, then there was a cycle of increased and decreased activity but with few personal bests set as drivers switched focus.

Dufek improved to 1m28.322s to be fifth at the start of the final hour, with Stenshorne and Wharton demoting Camara to eighth. Sagrera went ninth fastest, and Leon was shuffled down to 10th.

Camara later responded, setting a 1m28.116s that meant he occupied third place with half an hour to go. Del Pino bettered Leon by 0.021 seconds, but Leon managed to set a 1m28.005s with 24 minutes remaining to jump up to second.

Stromsted utilised clean air to set a 1m28.323s to rise from 15th to eighth with 11 minutes left of the session, and at the finish del Pino, MP’s Giusti, ART GP’s Tuukka Taponen, van Hoepen and Wharton were the only drivers to meet the chequered flag.

Morning session results