Patronise F1

After the near-entertainment of the recent pair of GP2 Series tests, the junior GP3 Series kicked off their own post-season testing season with a pair of days of action at a slightly cold Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.

With many GP3 drivers seeking to graduate to bigger and better things for 2012, the post-season tests saw plenty of changes throughout the field from the drivers that had completed the final races of the season back at Monza.

There were some exceptions, most notably Kiwi driver Mitch Evans, running with MW Arden. But he was the only member of the final top ten in the 2011 championship running in the test.

There were plenty of exciting-looking GP3 rookies in the testing field though, most notably Renault World Series race winner Kevin Korjus at Tech 1 Racing, British Formula Ford champion Scott Malvern at Status GP and F3 Euroseries man Daniel Abt in at the champions Lotus ART. 

Day 1

The first day was run in mixed conditions, with thick fog and wet weather causing the drivers a few problems throughout the morning session, before the track finally dried in the afternoon.

Predictably, given the tricky conditions, Evans made use of his experience of the car and track to top both the mixed morning running and the dry afternoon session, eventually finishing over half a second clear of the next-fastest car.

In the morning, it had been Korjus who was his nearest challenger as the times tumbled on the drying track, but the Estonian finished over three tenths of a second slower in the final reckoning.

Colombian driver and British F3 race winner Carlos Huertas was third fastest in the morning for Carlin, ahead of British FRenault driver Tio Ellinas (MW Arden) and Jenzer driver Brandon Maisano.

Evans continued his domination in the afternoon, half a second ahead of Finnish driver Matias Laine (Manor), returning to a GP3 car after a disappointing part-season in 2011. Huertas and Ellinas were third and fourth once again.

Abt took fifth in his Lotus-liveried car, ahead of Korjus and another Finn, Tech 1's Miki Weckstrom. brilliantly-named Hungarian driver Tamas Pal Kiss was 8th for ATECH, after finishing seventh in the morning running.

it was a circumspect first day in GP3 for Malvern, who ended the two sessions 21st and 19th, while only 26 of the 30 GP3 cars actually ran throughout the day, with some teams failing to cobble together a full three-driver effort in time.

Day 2

Evans continued to dominate on the second day of the test, topping both sessions to complete a clean sweep of fast times for the two-day event.

The New Zealander set his fastest time in the cooler morning portion of the day, but although he couldn't beat his own benchmark time in the afternoon, he still finished well ahead of the 25 other drivers.

Evans hit the front in the morning session after an hour of running, deposing Laine from top spot, but the Finnish driver kept hold of second place throughout the rest of the session to continue his impressive test on his return to GP3.

Behind the top two in the morning, all three Jenzer Motorsport drivers locked out the rest of the top five, with Russian Maxim Zimin finishing ahead of Swiss driver Michael Heche and Maisano.

In the afternoon, Evans and Laine again traded top spot before the Kiwi moved ahead just before the final hour of running. Laine again settled for second place, with Ellinas continuing his solid GP3 debut in third.

Aaro Vainio recovered from a spin during the morning to finish fourth for Lotus ART, ahead of Status driver Marlon Stockinger and ATECH's Pal Kiss.

Korjus had a quieter second day, ending the two sessions 12th and 11th, with Malvern again down the order across both sessions.

The GP3 post-season test calendar will see the teams take to the track again next month in Valencia, with a final 2011 test planned for Jerez in early December.