Today saw the first time this season that all 24 drivers took to the track at once, and there were a few surprises, and although we still cannot read an awful lot into the times, it is the first real indication of a pecking order.
The fastest time went to the Ingram of Milkovich, who looked very good. The Ingram was very stable, noticeably good around the fast 11-12 chicane. His team mate Campos looked less comfortable however, only managing 18th. Second was Domenicalli in the Rossi, which once again showed it's promise, while 11th for Giodano was slightly disappointing, suggesting the driveability of the car wasn't totally there, with some points looking like the car is quite feisty on turn in. Westwood had the best session of everyone, with Kinnumen third and Boston 6th. The car looks very sorted, and they must be very happy with how things are going. Pre season pacesetters Liverpool had a session that backs up driver Adrien Simon's claims that they are not the favourites, with a 4th for Beckenbauer and the Frenchman only taking 7th. However, the team will be hoping there is more to come, with qualifying tomorrow being very important around the Albert Park circuit. Peugeot look good around here. The cars were very quick in a straight line, while they seemed stable in the slower corners in the back end of the lap. Ellington took 5th, while 12th went to Regi Abott. Lucas had a mixed session, with the car looking mighty in the hands of Davenport, taking 8th, while Phipps struggled, only managing 21st, a disappointing performance. Downton had a similar day, with Marcus Thunder proving a dab hand in Melbourne, taking 9th, which was in stark contrast to world champion Nathaniel Powers, who only managed 20th place - he looked very ragged and couldn't seem to get a clean lap together. Fun looked like a solid bet for the midfield, with Agostino 10th and Dwyer 15th. The car looked very driveable, but they seemed to lack a small amount of speed. Franklin had a nightmare, there is no two ways about it. Ruiz got 13th, and Hoskins 17th, but they look to have no confidence in the car on corner entry, while they struggled to put the power down out of the corners. Warrior had a brilliant first session in the VGPC, with Kubat taking 14th, which was an amazing performance from him, with the car looking ever so good bearing in mind how late they started the car. Harding came 24th of 24 runners, but that isn't a problem by the looks of things, Kubat gave the team great hope. Team 23 looked rather worried today, with 16th and 19th positions occupied by Wagner and Mattson respectively. The car looked solid enough, but there is very little in the way of confidence from the drivers, which seems to be where the driver needs to look for pace. The final team was Force Australia. The home team for this event took 22nd and 23rd, but the car looked very tidy, with the drivers being able to attack from the off. Alaniz and Beyer will be hoping for big things this year!
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