Richie Stanaway set the pace in the first-ever GP3 Series practice session at the new Sochi circuit in Russia on Friday evening.
Stanaway lapped the Russian GP venue in 1m52.876s, ending the 45-minute session over a fifth of a second clear of Dean Stoneman, who joins the Koiranen GP squad this weekend as his usual Manor team has not made the trip to Russia.
Stanaway needs to overturn a 50-point deficit to points leader Alex Lynn over the next four races to wrest the title away.
Lynn finished the session sixth fastest on 1m53.365s, almost half a second down.
Behind Stoneman, fellow Briton Emil Bernstorff was third fastest for Carlin, ahead of another Briton, Dino Zamparelli, and his ART team-mate Marvin Kirchhofer.
Behind Lynn, the third ART of Alex Fontana was followed by Nick Yelloly (Status) and Jimmy Eriksson, who is third in the standings.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richie Stanaway | Status Grand Prix | 1m52.876s | – | 20 |
| 2 | Dean Stoneman | Koiranen GP | 1m53.109s | 0.233s | 18 |
| 3 | Emil Bernstorff | Carlin | 1m53.184s | 0.308s | 20 |
| 4 | Dino Zamparelli | ART Grand Prix | 1m53.305s | 0.429s | 17 |
| 5 | Marvin Kirchhofer | ART Grand Prix | 1m53.325s | 0.449s | 18 |
| 6 | Alex Lynn | Carlin | 1m53.365s | 0.489s | 20 |
| 7 | Alex Fontana | ART Grand Prix | 1m53.414s | 0.538s | 18 |
| 8 | Nick Yelloly | Status Grand Prix | 1m53.464s | 0.588s | 18 |
| 9 | Jimmy Eriksson | Koiranen GP | 1m53.485s | 0.609s | 17 |
| 10 | Matheo Tuscher | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m53.550s | 0.674s | 20 |
| 11 | Patric Niederhauser | Arden International | 1m53.570s | 0.694s | 20 |
| 12 | Robert Visoiu | Arden International | 1m53.591s | 0.715s | 21 |
| 13 | Patrick Kujala | Trident | 1m53.972s | 1.096s | 18 |
| 14 | Pal Varhaug | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m54.018s | 1.142s | 20 |
| 15 | Jann Mardenborough | Arden International | 1m54.062s | 1.186s | 18 |
| 16 | Kevin Ceccon | Jenzer Motorsport | 1m54.068s | 1.192s | 20 |
| 17 | Nelson Mason | Hilmer Motorsport | 1m54.518s | 1.642s | 20 |
| 18 | Riccardo Agostini | Hilmer Motorsport | 1m54.546s | 1.670s | 19 |
| 19 | Alfonso Celis | Status Grand Prix | 1m54.672s | 1.796s | 20 |
| 20 | Mitchell Gilbert | Trident | 1m54.915s | 2.039s | 20 |
| 21 | Luis Jorge Sa Silva | Carlin | 1m54.925s | 2.049s | 18 |
| 22 | Santiago Urrutia | Koiranen GP | 1m54.991s | 2.115s | 18 |
| 23 | Nikolay Martsenko | Hilmer Motorsport | 1m55.669s | 2.793s | 20 |
