Wickens heads free practice one in Barcelona
Canadian sets the pace ahead of Soucek and De Marco
Robert Wickens set the fastest lap in the opening free practice
session in Barcelona today (Thursday) after seeing off the
threat from F2 champion Andy Soucek.
Wickens and Soucek were the class of the field throughout the
30-minute session as the front running duo were the only drivers
to dip under the 1:40s mark. Wickens led the way in
the early stages before Soucek set a 1:39.568s lap time. His
Canadian rival responded with nine minutes of the session
remaining, bettering Soucek by just 0.056s.
Having won both races at the season opener in Valencia, Wickens
is absolutely focussed on what he calls the 'Spanish sweep', as he
looks for a repeat performance at the Circuit de Catalunya this
weekend.
"The week started pretty well during the test on Monday and I
have continued with that today," said Wickens. "I am still
not completely comfortable with the car and I am sure there is
more pace to find. It would be nice to win again in Spain
and if I could score a pole position then I would more than
any other driver. It is nice to show everyone my pace and I am
really looking forward to the weekend."
Nicola De Marco made an impressive return to form as the Italian
completed the top three positions. After a difficult weekend at his
home round in Imola, De Marco will be hoping to end his
season on a high as he looks to secure a top ten finish
in the overall standings.
"The test day did not go so well but I am pleased to be back in
the top three," said De Marco. "I have been here before with
Spanish F3, but it is very fast and lots of fun in an F2 car. I
just hope I can go well in qualifying tomorrow."
Frenchman Julien Jousse was less than a tenth of a second
behind De Marco in fourth while Philipp Eng was just 0.062s further
back in fifth. Kazim Vasiliauskas, Mikhail Aleshin and Miloš
Pavlović held sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. All
three drivers are still in the fight for second and third in the
championship, and the trio will be reasonably
satisfied with their steady showing this afternoon.
Jason Moore and Tristan Vautier both ran well in the official F2
test on Monday and the pair continue to impress in Barcelona -
Moore taking ninth in today's session, with Tristan Vautier
rounding out the top ten.
There was an early red flag in the session when Natacha Gachnang
stopped out on track. Ollie Hancock, Vasiliauskas and Vautier all
recovered from brief spins after the session had restarted.
Carlos Iaconelli is unfortunately unable to race this
weekend as the young Brazilian is suffering with flu. The
remaining 24 drivers will be back on track at 09:40 for the
final free practice session, before the first qualifying
session takes place at 14:05.
FIA Formula Two Championship - Free Practice one
- Barcelona:
1. Robert Wickens, 1:39.568s
2. Andy Soucek, +0.056s
3. Nicola De Marco, +0.676s
4. Julien Jousse, +0749s
5. Philipp Eng, +0.811s
6. Kazim Vasiliauskas, +0.956s
7. Mikhail Aleshin, +1.168s
8. Miloš Pavlović, +1.203s
9. Jason Moore, +1.211s
10. Tristan Vautier, +1.236s
Click
here to download the full classification.
The final round of the 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship
will take place at the Circuit de Catalunya, home of the Spanish
Grand Prix, this weekend (29 October - 1 November). Both races will
be screened live on Eurosport and at the official website
www.formulatwo.com, with live timing and text commentary available
for all practice sessions, qualifying sessions and
races.