GP2 Series pre-season testing came to an end today in Barcelona with rookies proving their potential, Christian Vietoris leading the field in the morning session and setting the best overall time of the day. A total of six rookies finished in the Top 10.

On great form since the beginning of the three-day test, rookie Vietoris (Racing Engineering) took the top spot one hour after the pitlane opened and stayed put until lunch. Oliver Turvey moved up to second fastest in the last half hour of the session edging out Dani Clos in the second Racing Engineering car.

Also competitive was Charles Pic (Arden), finishing fourth, his strongest showing so far. Behind him was another Frenchman and newcomer, Jules Bianchi ahead of Pastor Maldonado, the two Super Nova cars of Josef Kral and Marcus Ericsson, and Sergio Perez (Addax). The session was red-flagged twice, first following the collision between Ho-Pin Tung and Adrian Zaugg at Turn 5, and then after Bianchi hit the barriers at Turn 3 due to a technical problem.

While Leimer topped the timesheet for most of the afternoon session, the last thirty minutes were once again extremely animated and saw drastic changes in the classification. It started with Davide Valsecchi taking the lead with Maldonado moving up to second place three hundredths behind.

Fabio Leimer (Ocean) confirmed his good form in third place ahead of rookies Sam Bird, Turvey and Bianchi. Giedo van der Garde finished in seventh place ahead of Max Chilton and Luiz Razia.

This marked the end of pre-season testing for the GP2 Series. The 2010 season will kick off in Barcelona May 7.