De Palo fastest on Day 1 for MP Motorsport in Barcelona

Matteo De Palo set the fastest time on the first day of post-season testing in Barcelona for MP Motorsport. The Italian logged a 1:28.516 in the morning session to lead the pack while in the afternoon, Ernesto Rivera and Campos Racing headed the field.

MORNING

It was a very quiet start with teams running systems checks early on, and Rashid Al Dhaheri was the sole time in the opening hour, a 1:30.471 the early benchmark.

AIX Racing went 1-2 with half of the session to go, Gabriel Gomez leading teammate Dion Gowda on a 1:30.048 as the track got busier.

Alessandro Giusti put Rodin Motorsport on top with a 1:29.394 as more drivers hit the track approaching the final hour of running for the opening segment.

Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera then laid down a marker to become the first driver underneath the 1:29s. A 1:28.911 put the Mexican at the top of the timing screens by nearly half a second.

That gap was closed down by Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny, who cut the deficit to just under 0.2s.

Into the final 15 minutes of running and Matteo De Palo improved to go quickest of all, 1:28.516 the new time to beat. Giusti and Rivera also posted personal improvements in second and third.

Deligny and Taito Kato rounded out the top five as the Red Flag was thrown due to Reza Seewooruthun stopping on track in the Rodin.

With just a handful of minutes left of the morning, the session was not restarted. Zhenrui Chi was sixth ahead of Gabriel Gomez, Enzo Yeh, Salim Hanna and Miguel Costa in the top 10.

AFTERNOON

It was a race run-focused start to the afternoon session with many drivers logging mileage over any single-lap runs.

A long pause in the on-track action eventually gave way with less than half the remaining time to go, as drivers ventured back out for some more long runs.

TRIDENT went 1-2-3 with Kean Nakamura-Berta leading the field until Enzo Deligny, De Palo and then Giusti went to the top of the times themselves, dipping back into the 1:29s.

Rivera then returned Campos to the top of the pile with less than 20 minutes to go. The Red Bull Junior Team driver set a 1:28.549, putting him a tenth clear of Deligny.

There were no further changes at the top, leaving Giusti, Keanu Al Azhari and Jin Nakamura to complete the top five in the afternoon.

Running on Day 2 will commence at 09:00 local time on Tuesday.

BARCELONA POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION

BARCELONA POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION