GP2 new boy Romain Grosjean leapt to the top of the timesheets at the end of the first day of testing ahead of the inaugural GP2 Asia Series, which is set to get into gear next weekend.
All 26 title contenders took to the track in Dubai – scene of the opening round – to get a feel for the circuit for the first time, with ART Grand Prix star and reigning F3 Euroseries Champion Grosjean taking almost three seconds off Adrian Valles' morning pace-setting time to seal the top spot. The FMS ace would ultimately wind up third, behind compatriot Andy Soucek, twice second-fastest behind the wheel of his DPR machine.
GP2 race-winner Luca Filippi made up almost 20 places in the afternoon session to finish the day fourth for new outfit Qi.Meritus Mahara, less than three hundredths of a second shy of Soucek's time but a full six tenths adrift of that of Renault
F1 test-driver Grosjean, with iSport International's Bruno Senna fifth and Marco Bonanomi for Piquet Sports sixth-quickest on the sandy track.
Vitaly Petrov (Barwa International Campos Team), Jérôme d'Ambrosio (DAMS), Michael Herck (FMS) and Marcello Puglisi (Piquet Sports) rounded out the top ten.
Morning times – 19/01/08:
1.
Adrian Valles FMS International
1m 25.128s
2.
Andy Soucek DPR
1m 25.331s
3.
Michael Herck FMS International
1m 25.348s
4.
Vitaly Petrov Barwa International Campos
1m 25.481s
5.
Marco Bonanomi Piquet Sports
1m 25.611s
6.
Bruno Senna iSport International
1m 25.638s
7.
Romain Grosjean ART Grand Prix
1m 25.640s
8.
Kamui Kobayashi DAMS
1m 26.015s
9.
Christian Bakkerud Super Nova
1m 26.258s
10.
Sebastien Buemi Arden
1m 26.303s
11.
Davide Valsecchi Durango
1m 26.431s
12.
Marcello Puglisi Piquet Sports
1m 26.630s
13.
Jerome d'Ambrosio DAMS
1m 26.666s
14.
Alberto Valerio Durango
1m 26.908s
15.
Milos Pavlovic BCN Competicion
1m 27.074s
16.
Yelmer Buurman Arden
1m 27.110s
17.
Diego Nunes Barwa International Campos
1m 27.176s
18.
Fairuz Fauzy Super Nova
1m 27.910s
19.
Jason Tahinci BCN Competicion
1m 29.873s
20.
Stephen Jelley ART Grand Prix
1m 30.286s
21.
Ho-Pin Tung Trident Racing
1m 30.770s
22.
Aarman Ebrahim DPR
1m 35.134s
23.
Luca Filippi Qi.Meritus Mahara
1m 39.480s
24.
Hiroki Yoshimoto Qi.Meritus Mahara
1m 40.216s
25.
Harold Schleghelmilch Trident Racing
No Time
26.
Karun Chandhok iSport International
No Time
![ART Grand Prix star Romain Grosjean testing ahead of the inaugural GP2 Asia Series in Dubai [pic credit: GP2 Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/403161.jpg)
