Formula Two news
Aleshin tops red flagged practice session in Brno
19 June 2009 / Results / PhotosMikhail Aleshin has topped the first free practice session at Brno Circuit, Czech Republic. The Russian set a time of 1:57.547s on a damp but drying track before the circuit was hit with a heavy and prolonged rain shower, forcing practice to be red flagged.
The session resumed with nine minutes to go, but there was no chance of any of the runners being able to set a competitive time. The session was red flagged again following a spin for Jens Höing at Turn One, bringing the session to an end.
Several drivers began the session on slick tyres, which was the correct option for the first few laps. Aleshin set his flying lap during this period, along with a handful of others, but only six drivers were able to set a representative time during the 30 minute session. "I did my best time on slicks in the first few laps, when there was a dry line," said Aleshin. "I was able to go out and get up to speed quickly, and it is good to be fastest, but I could not get any rhythm because then the rain came down. I don't know if I've ever seen it rain as hard - on slicks, I was braking twenty metres early and from there until the corner I was going sideways - I was just trying not to spin for the whole lap. I'm pretty sure even on wets it would have been a problem, but on slicks I couldn't do anything. I think for sure it means Practice Two will be important, and it also means no-one has a good idea of dry set up so a dry race could be interesting!"
Nicola De Marco set the second fastest lap before the heavy rain came, with Kazim Vasiliauskas third. "I think for the first three laps with slick tyres the session went well!" said De Marco. "The rain was incredible. I don't think it's going to dry out any time soon, and I don't know the wet set-up very well because I missed out at Silverstone, so I'm going to have to learn quickly. It's going to be interesting!"
Natacha Gachnang was one of the drivers who was unable to make use of the drying conditions in the early laps: "I went out on wets, but it was actually quite dry at first," she said. "Then it started raining like crazy. It was impossible. We were aquaplaning everywhere and the session had to be stopped."
The final free practice session will take place at 14:00 before the opening qualifying session of the weekend gets underway at 17:00 later today (Friday).
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