Regalia

Regalia reigns at Budapest mid-season test…
 
ART Grand Prix’s Facu Regalia fastest on day two of testing in Hungary
 
Argentine Facu Regalia recorded the quickest time of the two-day test at the Hungaroring in a session affected by heavy rain and changeable weather. Koiranen GP’s Aaro Vainio headed the timesheets in the afternoon.
 
Day 2 of the test started with overcast, humid conditions and a damp track as the 27 drivers got down to business early on before the expected rain made an appearance. Trident’s Emanuele Zonzini was first onto the circuit but it was fastest man from day one Kevin Korjus (Koiranen GP), who set the early pace. The Estonian was first to lap in the 1m33’s until fellow rookie Melville McKee (Bamboo Engineering) bettered his time with a lap of 1:33.568.
 
Light rain fell upon the Hungaroring at the midway point of the session and the indecisive weather made it challenging for the drivers, some of which wanted to focus on qualifying and race simulations in preparation for the upcoming races. The Trident pair of David Fumanelli and Giovanni Venturini rose to P2 and P3 respectively, less than a tenth shy of McKee’s fastest time.
 
In the final 15 minutes the track began to dry and the pitlane was a hype of activity as new Pirelli tyres went on and the drivers surged onto the circuit. Nick Yelloly (Carlin) and Lewis Williamson (Bamboo Engineering) lit up the timing screens and were first to break into the 1m32s barrier. With five minutes left on the clock, Regalia posted the fastest time of the test to go P1.
 
The top ten in the morning session finished as Regalia, Williamson, Yelloly, MW Arden’s Daniil Kvyat and Carlos Sainz, Patrick Kujala (Koiranen GP), Tio Ellinas (Marussia Manor Racing), Jack Harvey (ART Grand Prix) and the Jenzer Motorsport duo of Alex Fontana and Patric Niederhauser.
 
The drivers hurried onto the track for the start of the afternoon session as heavy rain clouds loomed above but there was an early red flag when Adderly Fong (Status Grand Prix) stopped on the circuit. Vainio and Kujala topped the timesheets once the action resumed and the heavens opened. The session was red flagged for 35 minutes due to so much water on the circuit which was causing the drivers to aquaplane.
 
Regalia had a trip to the gravel bed which caused a short interruption covered by red flags. The sun shone down but it wasn’t enough to dry the track, meaning nobody could challenge Vainio and Kujala at the top of the standings. With 20 minutes remaining, Carlin’s Eric Lichtenstein made contact with the tyre barrier which brought the red flag out and once re-started, Ryan Cullen (Marussia Manor Racing) also touched the guardrail which brought the day and the test to a close.
 
The top eight times of the afternoon session were set before the downpour of rain, therefore at the chequered flag it ended as Vainio, Kujala, Giovanni Venturini (Trident), Josh Webster (Status Grand Prix), Sainz, Fong, Kvyat, Korjus. Conor Daly (ART Grand Prix) and Zonzini completed the top ten.
 
There is only a short wait before GP3 is back in action as the Series heads to Valencia for Round 2 next week on the 15th and 16th June.
Day 2: Morning
Driver
Team
Laptime
Laps
1.
Facu Regalia
ART Grand Prix
1:32.341
23
2.
Lewis Williamson
Bamboo Engineering
1:32.717
24
3.
Nick Yelloly
Carlin
1:32.948
33
4.
Daniil Kvyat
MW Arden
1:32.971
29
5.
Carlos Sainz
MW Arden
1:33.119
32
6.
Patrick Kujala
Koiranen GP
1:33.339
11
7.
Tio Ellinas
Marussia Manor Racing
1:33.371
33
8.
Jack Harvey
ART Grand Prix
1:33.384
34
9.
Alex Fontana
Jenzer Motorsport
1:33.472
29
10.
Patric Niederhauser
Jenzer Motorsport
1:33.530
30
11.
Melville McKee
Bamboo Engineering
1:33.568
16
12.
Conor Daly
ART Grand Prix
1:33.591
23
13.
David Fumanelli
Trident
1:33.627
32
14.
Giovanni Venturini
Trident
1:33.660
35
15.
Dino Zamparelli
Marussia Manor Racing
1:33.766
30
16.
Kevin Korjus
Koiranen GP
1:33.799
9
17.
Robert Visoiu
MW Arden
1:34.005
28
18.
Eric Lichtenstein
Carlin
1:34.140
34
19.
Emanuele Zonzini
Trident
1:34.449
28
20.
Jimmy Eriksson
Status Grand Prix
1:34.589
31
21.
Samin Gomez
Jenzer Motorsport
1:34.814
32
22.
Aaro Vainio
Koiranen GP
1:34.866
9
23.
Adderly Fong
Status Grand Prix
1:35.167
35
24.
Luis Sa Silva
Carlin
1:35.417
29
25.
Ryan Cullen
Marussia Manor Racing
1:36.280
34
26.
Josh Webster
Status Grand Prix
1:36.983
14
27.
Carmen Jorda
Bamboo Engineering
1:37.299
22
 
 
Day 2: Afternoon
Driver
Team
Laptime
Laps
1.
Aaro Vainio
Koiranen GP
1:32.993
20
2.
Patrick Kujala
Koiranen GP
1:33.622
14
3.
Giovanni Venturini
Trident
1:33.869
11
4.
Josh Webster
Status Grand Prix
1:34.851
11
5.
Carlos Sainz
MW Arden
1:36.065
18
6.
Adderly Fong
Status Grand Prix
1:36.115
14
7.
Daniil Kvyat
MW Arden
1:36.448
11
8.
Kevin Korjus
Koiranen GP
1:38.459
18
9.
Conor Daly
ART Grand Prix
1:38.932
14
10.
Emanuele Zonzini
Trident
1:39.811
12
11.
Luis Sa Silva
Carlin
1:43. 506
18
12.
Melville McKee
Bamboo Engineering
1:47.290
16
13.
Nick Yelloly
Carlin
1:47.829
14
14.
Jack Harvey
ART Grand Prix
1:51.290
12
15.
Alex Fontana
Jenzer Motorsport
1:52.640
10
16.
Eric Lichtenstein
Carlin
1:53.001
21
17.
Jimmy Eriksson
Status Grand Prix
1:53.320
12
18.
Dino Zamparelli
Marussia Manor Racing
1:53.652
17
19.
Carmen Jorda
Bamboo Engineering
1:53.824
12
20.
Facu Regalia
ART Grand Prix
1:53.933
10
21.
Tio Ellinas
Marussia Manor Racing
1:54.422
16
22.
Samin Gomez
Jenzer Motorsport
1:54.734
13
23.
David Fumanelli
Trident
1:57.028
9
24.
Ryan Cullen
Marussia Manor Racing
1:57.913
18
25.
Lewis Williamson
Bamboo Engineering
1:58.056
8
26.
Patric Niederhauser
Jenzer Motorsport
1:58.092
10
27.
Robert Visoiu
MW Arden
2:02.381
8