Practice-
Jin Nakamura started the Madrid weekend fastest of all for Hitech. The Japanese driver recorded a 1:49.835 in the final minutes of the session to lead compatriot Taito Kato for ART Grand Prix by a tenth.
Van Amersfoort Racing’s Enzo Deligny completed the top three.
Kato was the first to set a time in the session, with the ART driver leading an early 1-2-3 for the French team on a 1:52.026.
The Japanese driver lowered his time to a 1:52.026 which was then bettered by Tuukka Taponen by just 0.037s.
Kato then returned to the top with 15 minutes to run on a 1:51.567 before title contender Ugochukwu went fastest with a 1:51.192.
The Campos Racing driver was flying on his next lap as he shaved off over half a second on his next attempt to lead the pack on a 1:50.587 with teammate Ernesto Rivera in P2.
Championship leader Freddie Slater replied with 20 minutes to go, lowering the benchmark effort to a 1:50.453.
Pedro Clerot had an earlier time good enough for P3 deleted, but he restored himself to the top three with just over 15 minutes to go with Taponen and then Rodin Motorsport teammate Brando Badoer in the top five.
Kato then went quickest once again, 0.060s ahead of Slater’s time, before Fionn McLaughlin went just behind Clerot for Hitech in fifth.
Ugochukwu logged on a 1:50.268 on his next lap to return to the top, before title rival Slater bettered that by just 0.072s.
Into the final five minutes and Enzo Deligny went to P2 just 0.069s off top spot before the next set of improvements arrived.
Kato lowered his best to a 1:49.936 to go P1, as Ugochukwu finished 0.064s down on that time in P2, 0.002s ahead of Rivera, with Slater fourth.
Nakamura then went quickest in the final minute, with Deligny moving himself back to third just as the Red Flag was thrown.
A crash for Nicola Lacorte in the final seconds brought out the practice to a close, with the DAMS Lucas Oil driver OK after tagging the barriers at the exit of Turn 9.
Qualifying-
Qualifying 1
Kato was the first driver to cross the line and completed a 1:51.127. But no one else could match the ART driver with Alex Powell 0.161s behind in second.
It was not good news for Trident, with Noah Stromsted’s sidepod coming loose after contact on the warmup lap with Kanato Le, while Slater complained of issues with the car.
On the second set of laps, Kato improved to a 1:50.547, with Jin Nakamura 0.218s behind in P2.
The Japanese drivers were demoted a position moments later when Rodin Motorsport’s Clerot went quickest on a 1:50.547.
In the battle for the title Slater was down in P11. The Championship leader was still complaining of issues with his car.
Trident brought their driver in and fitted him with a new set of hard tyres, while the rest of the field continued on.
Kato improved to a 1:50.535 to eclipse Clerot by 0.012s as Ugochukwu went to P4. Slater, despite the new rubber, came on the radio to complain of issues on his Trident.
Elsewhere, Brando Badoer’s session looked to be over after he hit the barrier, with Rodin left in a race against time to fix his left rear suspension ahead of qualifying 2.
Out on track, Kato could not improve on his final lap of Q1. But neither could his rivals, leaving him on pole for Feature Race 1, with Clerot settling for P2 ahead of Taponen.
Qualifying 2
After a short break the drivers were back out on track. This included Slater with Trident having worked to fix his car in the break between the sessions.
The British driver looked to be back in the groove as he completed a 1:49.972 to go fastest, with Ugochukwu in second, over half a second behind his title rival.
Clerot and Badoer, who was back out on track wit his car fixed, went up to second and third, although Nakamura split the Rodin duo moments later.
On the second set of laps, Kato jumped up to P1 only for Ugochukwu to demote him to P2 moments later with a 1:49.901.
Clerot continued his strong form to take over at the top with a 1:49.830. Slater, having set the fastest first sector, locked up on the entry to Turn 5, leaving him fifth.
Ugochukwu then reclaimed P1 with a 1:49.771 as Slater aborted his lap and returned to the pit lane. Clerot finished his next lap to go to P2, 0.069s off the Campos driver.
On the final lap of the day, Taponen went quickest on a 1:49.750. Ugochukwu came across the line but could not improve and stayed second.
Behind them, Clerot had been on for a fast lap, but he pushed too hard at the final corner, winding up in the barriers, bringing the session to an end.
This left Taponen on pole for Feature Race 2 ahead of Ugochukwu and Clerot.
