Nikola Tsolov showcased his speed and consistency on the second day of F3 pre-season testing in Barcelona, topping both the morning and afternoon sessions for Campos Racing.
Morning Session: Tsolov Edges Out Taponen
The morning session saw teams prioritising performance runs. With ART Grand Prix’s Tuukka Taponen setting the early pace with a 1:28.879. The Finn held a 0.376s advantage over his teammate James Wharton before TRIDENT’s Noah Stromsted took advantage of a clear track to post a 1:27.714. Edging ahead of his teammate Rafael Câmara.
As the session progressed, Taponen regained the top spot with a 1:26.838, just 0.04s ahead of Laurens Van Hoepen. This lead was short lived as the flying Tsolov managed to set a faster time. A time of 1:26.618 set by the Bulgarian was the fastest of the early session, as DAMS Lucas Oil driver Nicola Lacorte stopped on track at Turn 8, bringing out the red flag.
Afternoon Session: Tsolov continues to dominante
Tsolov continued his impressive dominance in the afternoon session. Leading a Campos Racing 1-2-3 in fourth session of testing. The young Bulgarian initially set a 1:27.373. A time that was 0.075s clear of teammate Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak, and Mari Boya completing the top three, albeit over three-tenths off the leader’s pace.
As the session progressed, Tsolov continued to stamp his mark on this day of testing, extending his lead to almost 0.2 seconds over Inthraphuvasak.
Despite Campos’ dominance throughout the day, Hitech TGR’s Martinius Stenshorne broke their stronghold by moving into third with a 1:27.569. However, MP Motorsport’s Tim Tramnitz later improved to take P3, ending up 0.315s off Tsolov’s leading time.
During the final half-hour, there were no further changes through the timing. Tsolov managed to top both the Morning and Afternoon sessions during testing. Setting up a potentially exciting third season in the series for the Bulgarian driver.
Inthraphuvasak and Tramnitz completed the top three, followed by Stenshorne, van Hoepen, Boya, and MP Motorsport rookies Alessandro Giusti and Bruno del Pino. PREMA’s Noel León finished ninth, while Hitech TGR’s Gerrard Xie rounded out the top ten.
There is one day of F3 pre-season testing remaining in Barcelona. Then all teams and drivers set their full focus on the season opener in Australia.
Feature Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited
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