28/05/2010
NEWS STORY
A last gasp flying lap put Manor Racing's Rio Haryanto at the top of the timesheets in today's practice session at Istanbul Park.
The Indonesian driver has had a slow start to the season, but proved today that he is definitely one to watch. He was down the grid for most of the session but crossed the line with a 1:48.022 just before the end of the session, pushing ART's Esteban Gutierrez back to second spot with a time of 1:48.069, the Mexican having dominated for most of the session.
For the majority of the 30 GP3 drivers it was their first experience of the notoriously difficult Turkish track, but the session was relatively drama free except for a few spins. RSC Mucke Motorsport's Renger van der Zande finished in 3rd spot just ahead of teammate Nigel Melker. Oliver Oakes put in an impressive display for Atech CRS GP ending up in 5th , his highest practice position to date.
In the closing stages MW Arden's Michael Christensen edged out Manor's James Jakes for 6th spot. Dean Smith finished the session in 8th for Carlin. Addax Team's Pablo Sanchez Lopez and Jenzer's Nico Muller rounded out the top ten.