Davide Valsecchi fastest in rain hit GP2 Practice

Davide Valsecchi has finished fastest in practice ahead of this weekend’s GP2 races around the Hockenheimring, as rain swept across the circuit towards the end of the session. Championship leader Luiz Razia ended the session 2nd, ahead of Esteban Gutierrez who finished 3rd for Lotus.

The session started under overcast conditions, with rain a big threat towards the end of the session. With big rain clouds bubbling up in the distance, the majority of the field elected to take to the track as early as possible, to maximize their chances of dry running.

It was Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez who was first to take to the track, followed out closely by a traditional long train of awaiting cars. Gutierrez also set the first timed lap of the session, a 01:32.068. Johnny Cecotto jr. spun on the exit of turn 1, clearly eager to push the limits in the opening session of the weekend.

Marcus Ericsson then went top for iSport International, before the Lotus duo of James Calado and then Esteban Gutierrez went fastest once again. Championship leader Luiz Razia then assumed the top spot, with a 01:24.151. The Brazilian driver will be striving for yet another competitive result this weekend, as he sets his eyes firmly on a test drive with F1 team Red Bull Racing.

Championship contender Davide Valsecchi then shot to the top, as Giancarlo Serenelli brought proceedings to a sudden halt as the Venezuelan driver slammed into the wall on the exit of turn 12. The incident utterly destroyed the left-hand side of his Venezuela GP Lazarus car, bringing out a red flag delay as the safety and medical cars sped to the scene.

Thankfully the 31-year-old was uninjured in incident, however the same couldn’t be said for the car and the barriers which endured to brunt force of the impact. As the marshals set to retrieving the stricken car and repairing the barriers, rain began to fall on the track.

Once the session had returned to green flag conditions, Stephane Richelmi was the first to leave the pit amazingly on dry tyres. With rain still intermittently falling on the circuit, many drivers including Giedo van der Garde found it increasingly tricky out on track. Due to the rain, the drivers were unable to capitalize on their times thus allowing Davide Valsecchi to remain fastest overall.

The Italian driver ended the session in unorthodox fashion, as the DAMS driver peeled off the track on the exit of turn 1 and proceeded to return to the paddock through what looked like a car park. Whether the stewards will penalize Valsecchi for this remains to been, as the drivers now prepare for their all important qualifying runs later in the day.

Follow me on Twitter - @AndyYoungF1