|
 |
|
 |
| July 20, 2012 |
| GP3 Series: Ellinas Leads the Way in Practice at Hockenheimring |
 | Tio Ellinas waited out a wet track to secure his first series pole at the Hockenheimring
(Photo: GP3 Series Media Services) |
Round Five of the GP3 Series got underway at Hockenheimring on Friday (July 20), as practice was run in the early evening, making a change for the drivers who normally take to the track earlier in the day.
After the rain had bucketed down throughout the day, the track was declared wet for practice. Alice Powell was the first driver to venture onto the circuit as only a few drivers attempted tentative laps in early part of the session.
With a few drivers circulating on wets, most drivers waited patiently in the pits as the track was in the tricky state of not wet or dry. After 15 minutes, the slicks went on and the action began! Marussia Manor Racing’s Dmitry Suranovich was the first driver to set the pace, however it was short lived when practice was stopped due to a power failure. This caused a short delay while the drivers returned to the pits. 17 minutes, 56 seconds were left on the clock as the time was stopped, but once the session was resumed, 15 minutes were left for the drivers to do battle! Mitch Evans was fastest at this point, from William Buller, Suranovich, Marlon Stockinger and Alex Brundle.
Once the track became live, the times tumbled as positions at the top swapped every 30 seconds with purple sectors being set. Antonio Felix Da Costa went P1 with 10 minutes remaining until Tio Ellinas went quicker. Patric Niederhauser had a brief spell on top until Ellinas reclaimed his position back. With several drivers spinning in the final moments, yellow flags were aplenty with lots of traffic for the drivers to contend with. As the chequered flag came out, Ellinas stayed P1, ahead of Vainio and Da Costa, until a late charge from David Fumanelli changed the order, as the Italian rose to P2.
The final 10 finished as Ellinas, Fumanelli, Vainio, Da Costa, Niederhauser, Daniel Abt, Evans, American Conor Daly, Tamas Pal Kiss and Buller. American Ethan Ringel was P23.
The GP3 Series doubleheader at the Hockenheimring resumes on Saturday (July 21) with morning qualifying and an afternoon race in Germany.
The top-three, along with how the North American racers did, will be posted following every session on the EFCN Facebook page, and EFCN Twitter page.
Full GP3 Series Practice results available HERE |
|
|
|
Go Top
|
|
|
|
|
