Monaco- May 21
Walker fastest on Thursday in Monaco
21 May 2009
It was a full house for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series as Monaco gets underway, with all twenty six cars competing for the first time this season. In addition to the arrival of KMP Group/SG Formula, with Jules Bianchi and Anton Nebilitskiy in the seats, several other line-up changes are to be reported.
Monaco driver Stefano Coletti joins Prema Powerteam. John Martin, the Australian driver, replaces Anton Nebilitskiy in the Comtec Racing team, with Max Chilton as team-mate. At RC Motorsport, Filip Salaquadra takes the second seat.
As the first discipline to take to the track, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers experienced constantly changing grip conditions during their collective testing. All drivers started out on old tyres and devoted an initial lengthy relay today to getting familiarized or re-familiarized with this very unique track. The day got off to a bad start for Marco Barba (International Draco Racing) who hit the side barriers in the Mirabeau tight right-hander.
Miguel Molina (Ultimate Motorsport) was first to clock a significant time, putting in a 1'33''429 lap. This was swiftly beaten by Marcos Martinez (Pons Racing) and then Adrian Valles (Epsilon Euskadi). Before pitting to change tyres, Miguel Molina took control again, clocking 1'30''945.
KMP Group/SG Formula had a trouble-beset start to their season. Jules Bianchi was immobilized with clutch problems and Anton Nebilitskiy came into contact with the track side barriers. He wasn't the only one, imitated seconds later by local boy Stefano Coletti. The Monaco driver, in 8th position at the time, lost control in the dangerous Sainte Dévote corner, damaging the rear end of his car.
Some drivers, particularly the Rookies, opted to fit new rubber, others sticking to old tyres. Filip Salaquadra went to top of the timing screens briefly, before being knocked off by Jaime Alguersuari (Carlin Motorsport), Adrian Zaugg (Interwetten.com Racing) and Miguel Molina, all vying for first place. But by the end of the session, James Walker had had the final word of the day, with a 1'28''290 lap. He leads from Brendon Hartley, Daniil Move, Adrian Zaugg and Jaime Alguersuari.
1 J. Walker P1 Motorsport 1:28.290 26
2 B. Hartley Tech 1 Racing 1:28.357 24
3 D. Move P1 Motorsport 1:28.480 27
4 A. Zaugg Interwetten.com 1:28.510 27
5 J. Alguersuari Carlin Motorsport 1:28.538 25
6 M. Molina Ultimate Signature 1:28.717 25
7 M. Martínez Pons Racing 1:28.822 26
8 C. Pic Tech 1 Racing 1:29.008 24
9 S. Pentus Fortec Motorsport 1:29.100 26
10 B. Baguette Draco Multiracing USA 1:29.283 28
11 F. Fauzy Fortec Motorsport 1:29.287 17
12 O. Turvey Carlin Motorsport 1:29.423 25
13 C. van der Drift Epsilon Euskadi 1:29.525 25
14 A. Valles Epsilon Euskadi 1:29.548 26
15 P. di Sabatino RC Motorsport 1:29.662 24
16 G. Mansell Ultimate Signature 1:29.683 26
17 F. Salaquarda RC Motorsport 1:29.768 23
18 J. Leal Prema Powerteam 1:30.025 26
19 J. Martin Red Devil Comtec 1:30.114 24
20 F. Leo Pons Racing 1:30.865 26
21 M. Marinescu Interwetten.com 1:31.240 26
22 S. Coletti Prema Powerteam 1:31.703 17
23 A. Nebylitskiy SG Formula 1:34.563 15
24 M. Chilton Red Devil Comtec 1:39.465 6
25 J. Bianchi SG Formula 1:40.926 7
26 M. Barba Draco Multiracing USA 1:50.651 3
GP Update
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