Javier Villa posted the quickest lap of the day as the GP2 Series took advantage of
Formula One's annual sojourn across the Atlantic to stage its only in-season test session at Paul Ricard.
The Racing Engineering driver lapped the French circuit in 1min 13.037secs, with team-mate Giorgio Pantano following closely - setting a 1min 13.235secs best - to round out another solid day for Alfonso d'Orleans Borbon's team. The pair had been fourth and sixth quickest respectively during the morning session, but eventually got the better of early pacesetter Pastor Maldonado, who completed the day third fastest.
The two Repsol/Telefónica-backed Dallaras focused on running as quickly as possible with a variety of set-ups. The configuration changes proved positive, allowing the drivers to top the afternoon timesheet.
"All was very good," Villa commented, "We know that we are quick and what we can do, but I think it was important for the team to see what we can do. We were checking different things on the car and improved a bit more. In the morning, I was fourth, in the afternoon first and consistent all day - overall, that is very important. The times in the afternoon were very good. I hope we continue this trend."
“It important for us to work on the car, in all the things we have to see, check, try things with the set-up, and I think we did quite a good job," Pantano agreed, "We understood the changes we did and I believe we improved the car. It was important to understand how the car was working with the changes we did. Tomorrow, there is just the fast part, it will be mainly to understand the configuration for Monza."
Luca Filippi, meanwhile, received a welcome morale boost, posting the fourth-fastest time of the day for ART Grand Prix. The Italian, like Villa, has struggled to make an impact on the races contested so far, and will be looking to turn his season around - and claw back the ground lost to rookie team-mate Romain Grosjean - over the remaining six meetings. Grosjean, incidentally, ended the afternoon session in seventh spot.
![Javier Villa - Racing Engineering [pic credit: GP2 Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/410942.jpg)
