After running baseline laps on his first set of tyres, Grosjean made the change and was instantly on the pace, claiming top spot with twelve minutes remaining - just as Soucek spun out of the session at turn twelve. Bruno Senna was determined to catch his rival, but spun off the last kerb and briefly just ahead of the finish line, putting paid to his chances, while iSport team-mate Karun Chandhok and Pantano also spun at the close of the session as they looked to improve their times.
Behind Maldonado, Vitaly Petrov, Roldan Rodriguez, returnees Lucas di Grassi and Soucek, and Senna rounded out the top ten but, with 17 drivers within a second of Grosjean's best time, qualifying promises to be closely-fought.
After three rounds, the series has seen six different race winners, and is still looking for a clear leader. Pantano and Senna share the drivers' championship lead with 24 points apiece, but are just five ahead of rookies Grosjean and Alvaro Parente, while only 14 points separate the co-leaders from tenth-placed Mike Conway.
Magny-Cours proved fruitful for Pantano last year, the Italian securing a win and a podium for Campos, but he faces a different line-up this weekend - even compared to Monaco a month ago.
Last season's runner-up, Lucas di Grassi, returns at the wheel of the Barwa International Campos car previously occupied by Britain's Ben Hanley, who swaps to Durango as the latest temporary replacement for injured Davide Valsecchi. Soucek also returns, both to the series and Super Nova, where he has been hired to replace the luckless Christian Bakkerud, after the Dane finally accepted the inevitable and will sit out the rest of the year to rehab his injured back. Over, at DPR, Michael Herck returns to the car driven in the Principality by Soucek, having finally recovered from a wrist injury.
Marko Asmer will make his GP2 Series debut with Fisichella Motor Sport International, replacing Adam Carroll, while Carlos Iaconelli received a late call from BCN Competicion, which thought it had a shot at getting Soucek to replace Milos Pavlovic.
![Romain Grosjean - ART Grand Prix [pic credit: GP2 Series]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/432049.jpg)
