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Palou leads the way on day two in Valencia

Spaniard Alex Palou posted the fastest time on day two of pre-season testing in Valencia. The Campos Racing driver edged out ART Grand Prix’s Marvin Kirchhöfer by a mere 0.012s with a blazing laptime of 1:20.880 set in the morning session.  Jenzer Motorsport’s Pal Varhaug recorded the quickest time in the afternoon.

Sunshine and warmer temperatures set the scene for the final day of testing at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. It was a frenetic start to the proceedings with the majority of the best laptimes registered within the first hour. Fastest driver from yesterday morning, Palou, was the early pace-setter and was first to dip into the 1m21s. Kirchhöfer joined the Spaniard in the time bracket, less than a tenth shy.

Esteban Ocon also broke into the 1m21’s, 0.068s adrift of Palou with Koiranen GP’s Jimmy Eriksson in fourth. In a trouble free-session, the teams mainly focused on race simulations and qualifying runs. Kevin Korjus found some extra pace to sneak into P4, with Jenzer Motorsport’s Matheo Tuscher rising to P5.

Palou, Kirchhöfer, Ocon, Korjus and Tuscher completed the top five at the chequered flag. Eriksson, Alfonso Celis. Jr, Ralph Boschung, Matthew Parry and Varhaug rounded out the top ten.

The afternoon session got underway after a one hour break with Eriksson leading the way in front of Antonio Fuoco and Parry as the drivers concentrated on race simulations. In the final hour, there were two short stoppages covered by red flags; firstly when Kirchhöfer stopped on track at turn 12 and secondly Parry a few moments later.

Once the action resumed, Eriksson remained in control of the timesheet whilst Seb Morris and Varhaug were on the move, jumping up to P2 and P3 respectively. Varhaug continued to improve and was first to break into the 1m21’s in the afternoon to shoot to the head of the timings.

Mitch Gilbert made a last minute dash to take P2 with Korjus close in pursuit. At the chequered flag, Varhaug finished ahead of Gilbert, Korjus, Eriksson, Morris, Oscar Tunjo, Fuoco, Parry, Kevin Ceccon and Alex Fontana.

The third and final pre-season test will be held in Barcelona, Spain on 22-23 April, ahead of the Series’ opening round at the Circuit de Catalunya in May.

Valencia: Day 2

Morning Results

Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Alex Palou Campos Racing 1:20.880 35
2. Marvin Kirchhöfer ART Grand Prix 1:20.892 26
3. Esteban Ocon ART Grand Prix 1:20.980 31
4. Kevin Korjus Koiranen GP 1:21.144 38
5. Matheo Tuscher Jenzer Motorsport 1:21.165 42
6. Jimmy Eriksson Koiranen GP 1:21.215 33
7. Alfonso Celis. Jr ART Grand Prix 1:21.324 24
8. Ralph Boschung Jenzer Motorsport 1:21.343 31
9. Matthew Parry Koiranen GP 1:21.382 33
10. Pal Varhaug Jenzer Motorsport 1:21.384 40
11. Luca Ghiotto Trident 1:21.424 50
12. Oscar Tunjo Trident 1:21.425 34
13. Antonio Fuoco Carlin 1:21.443 39
14. Jann Mardenborough Carlin 1:21.588 34
15. Emil Bernstorff Arden International 1:21.591 48
16. Sandy Stuvik Status Grand Prix 1:21.598 55
17. Alex Fontana Status Grand Prix 1:21.618 43
18. Zaid Ashkanani Campos Racing 1:21.727 43
19. Mitchell Gilbert Carlin 1:21.810 43
20. Seb Morris Status Grand Prix 1:21.874 30
21. Kevin Ceccon Arden International 1:22.118 43
22. Artur Janosz Trident 1:22.671 40
23. Aleksander Bosak Arden International 1:22.770 37
24. Samin Gomez Campos Racing 1:23.414 35
Afternoon Results
Driver Team Laptime Laps
1. Pal Varhaug Jenzer Motorsport 1:21.719 17
2. Mitchell Gilbert Carlin 1:22.021 65
3. Kevin Korjus Koiranen GP 1:22.064 39
4. Jimmy Eriksson Koiranen GP 1:22.086 49
5. Seb Morris Status Grand Prix 1:22.222 35
6. Oscar Tunjo Trident 1:22.258 44
7. Antonio Fuoco Carlin 1:22.263 64
8. Matthew Parry Koiranen GP 1:22.281 30
9. Kevin Ceccon Arden International 1:22.316 36
10. Alex Fontana Status Grand Prix 1:22.332 42
11. Zaid Ashkanani Campos Racing 1:22.383 30
12. Emil Bernstorff Arden International 1:22.393 53
13. Matheo Tuscher Jenzer Motorsport 1:22.551 47
14. Sandy Stuvik Status Grand Prix 1:22.683 48
15. Esteban Ocon ART Grand Prix 1:23.199 65
16. Luca Ghiotto Trident 1:23.275 43
17. Samin Gomez Campos Racing 1:23.486 38
18. Marvin Kirchhöfer ART Grand Prix 1:23.618 30
19. Alex Palou Campos Racing 1:23.705 45
20. Artur Janosz Trident 1:23.821 43
21. Ralph Boschung Jenzer Motorsport 1:23.983 55
22. Aleksander Bosak Arden International 1:24.169 38
23. Jann Mardenborough Carlin 1:24.433 64
24. Alfonso Celis. Jr ART Grand Prix 1:24.522 62