Nakamura-Berta ends Day 1 of Jerez post-season testing on top

Kean Nakamura-Berta ended Day 1 of the Jerez post-season test on top for TRIDENT.

The British driver completed a 1:31.169 in the afternoon session to top the times, with Campos Racing’s Ernesto Rivera having led the way in the morning with a 1:31.217.

MORNING

It was a quiet first part of the day as installation laps took priority with the drivers and teams looking to get everything in order before hitting the track for their flying laps.

As the first 90 minutes of the day came to an end, AIX Racing sent their three drivers out for the flying laps of the day.

James Egozi completed a 1:34.526 before improving to a 1:32.680 on his next attempt. On each occasion, he was over seven-tenths quicker than teammate Dion Gowda.

MP Motorsport’s Matteo De Palo then beat that time with a 1:32.353. The Italian clocked a 1:31.867 on his next lap, with Maciej Gladysz going to P2 – 0.582s down on his teammate.

Hitech’s Kanato Le cut the gap down to De Palo to just 0.105s with DAMS Lucas Oil’s Miguel Costa going up to P3.

On his next lap, Costa took over at the top by 0.038s, completing a 1:31.829 to cap a solid start to the test.

Teams’ champions Campos Racing then made their first move of the day, as Ernesto Rivera went quickest on a 1:31.217 on a new set of Mediums. Teammate Mattia Colnaghi was second, over three-tenths behind.

With 15 minutes left in the session, Enzo Deligny moved up to P2, 0.188s down on Rivera.

There were no further improvements in the session, with Rivera remaining on top ahead of Deligny, Colnaghi, Alessandro Giusti and Alexander Abkhazava.

AFTERNOON

Rivera picked up where he left off in the morning to set the fastest time of a 1:31.784. However, he was quickly demoted to P2 by TRIDENT’s Niccolò Maccagnani on a 1:31.632.

Long runs then became the focus for the teams, although we did see a few improvements as Rashid Al Dhaheri went up to fourth ahead of Taito Kato.

Costa continued his fine form with DAMS by going up to third with just over 45 minutes left in the session, 0.293s away from Maccagnani.

As the session approached its final stages, a few teams put on a set of new Hard tyres, and with that Kean Nakamura-Berta went top on a 1:31.169.

Maccagnani followed him across the line moments later to go up to P2, making it a TRIDENT 1-2, with the Italian driver just 0.044s away from his teammate.

Colnaghi then made a late move up the leaderboard for Campos, going to within 0.002s off Nakamura-Berta, with Rivera in P3, just 0.011s away from the leading time.

Heading into the final few minutes, DAMS Lucas Oil’s Abkhazava, stopped on track, with the session unable to start before the chequered flag was waved.

That wraps up Day 1 in Jerez, with Nakamura-Berta on top ahead of Colnaghi, Rivera, Maccagnani and Giusti. Egozi was sixth, ahead of Taito Kato, De Palo, Sebastian Wheldon, and Emmanuele Olivieri.

The drivers will be back out on track for the final day of testing in Jerez at 09:00 local time tomorrow morning.

JEREZ POST-SEASON TEST, DAY 1, MORNING SESSION

JEREZ POST-SEASON TESTING, DAY 1, AFTERNOON SESSION

*Car 29 failed to provide the minimum required amount of fuel, therefore all laptimes from the afternoon session were subsequently deleted. *All afternoon session times deleted for Car 26 after being found to be underweight following post-session checks