GP3 – Final pre-season test opens in Valencia

Date: 25 avril 2017

The 2017 GP3 Series season restarts tomorrow for the third and final pre-season test, to be held at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia on 25-26 April. The teams and drivers will use the 2 day test to finalise preparations for the opening race of the season, at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona on 12-14 May.

The second test of the season was held last week in Barcelona on 19-20 April, and saw Dorian Boccolacci claim the top of the timesheets for both sessions of the final day, and the fastest time of the combined test in the qualifying-style morning session at the end of the first hour with a time of 1:32.896, just a hundredth quicker than Nirei Fukuzumi and Jack Aitken, while also easily claiming the top spot in the afternoon as the field concentrated on race length runs.

The first day saw Fukuzumi claims the honours with a comfortable run to the top spot in a sunny afternoon session ahead of ART teammate Anthoine Hubert and Arjun Maini: the Indian driver also topped the morning session, which was a wet/dry session following an early shower, with Niko Kari and Santino Ferrucci rounding out the top three.

With both previous tests marred by rain the teams will be hoping for better weather to allow them to have a more useful test in Valencia, and will once again have access to the new for 2017 Drag Reduction System (DRS), restricted to use only within the 2 nominated DRS zones, in line with the FIA Formula 2 and Formula 1 championships. As usual all drivers will be allowed 7 sets of Pirelli’s medium compound for the test, and 3 sets of wets.

The driver line up is unchanged once again, and the sessions will start each day at 09:00 local time and run until 12:00: on Wednesday the afternoon session will run from 14:00 to 17:00, while on Thursday this will be pushed forward an hour to 13:00 before closing at 16:00.

GP3 Series – Estoril Test Session: Drivers’ Entry List

ART Grand Prix

1. Jack Aitken

2. Nirei Fukuzumi

3. George Russell

4. Anthoine Hubert

Arden International

5. Niko Kari

6. Leonardo Pulcini

7. Steijn Schothurst

Trident

8. Kevin Joerg