Campos Racing’s Leonardo Pulcini led the way on the opening day of GP3’s final pre-season test at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
The residue dirt left by World Rallycross following its visit to the track last weekend disrupted early running, leading to installation laps on Wet tyres, and prompted officials to extend the afternoon session by an hour.
Pulcini used that additional time to good effect by clocking the fastest time of the day, a lap of 1:32.785 lifting him above Ferrari-backed ART newcomer Callum Ilott by just 0.012s.
Pulcini’s late effort denied ART a 1-2-3, with the series’ powerhouse team instead winding up 2-3-4, Ilott finishing in front of Force India development driver Nikita Mazepin and the returning Jake Hughes.
Giuliano Alesi edged Trident team-mate Pedro Piquet to take fifth spot, while Anthone Hubert was seventh, despite spinning off at Turn 3.
David Beckmann (Jenzer Motorsport), morning pacesetter Dorian Boccolacci and Niko Kari (both MP Motorsport) rounded out the top 10.
Testing continues for one more day on Wednesday, the final opportunity for teams and drivers to hone their packages before May’s opening round alongside Formula 1’s Spanish Grand Prix.
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