Johan Jokinen goes fastest in opening practice

Johan Jokinen topped the timesheets in an enthralling first practice session around the streets of Marrakech, the Dane setting a series of blistering laps late on to capture top spot five minutes from the end of the session.

Johan Jokinen set a blistering late pace to capture the top spot Credit: FIA F2

Jokinen's late flurry displaced Dean Stoneman into second, although the Briton had held the top spot for much of the session. Stoneman was initially able to respond as Jokinen increased his pace, and the pair traded fastest sector times and fastest laps, but had to settle for second as the chequered flag fell.

2009 race winner Kazim Vasiliauskas was third fastest overall, the Lithuanian setting his best time on his final tour of the circuit, whilst Austria's Philipp Eng - who had been fastest in the early stages - finished fourth. Jolyon Palmer, who took his maiden F2 victory in the previous round at Silverstone, continued his impressive form to clinch fifth, his best effort just 0.039s shy of Eng.

Behind Palmer impressive performances from Ricardo Teixeira and Paul Rees saw the duo capture sixth and seventh respectively, ahead of Nicola De Marco and Russia's Sergey Afanasiev - one of the few drivers who had previous street circuit experience from his time in International Formula Master.

Having topped the timesheets at the midway stage, Benjamin Bailly had to settle for tenth overall, although the Belgian did well to finish at the head of a group of seven drivers separated by less than four tenths of a second. Parthiva Sureshwaren and Jack Clarke had also occupied the top spot during the session, but the duo had to settle for 16th and 19th respectively at the close.

Times tumbled throughout what was an enthralling opening practice session in Marrakech, with several different drivers occupying top spot and more than a dozen lead changes over the 30 minutes. There were also a number of incidents on the circuit as drivers discovered their limits, with the fourth chicane in particular appearing to catch drivers out. Stoneman, Kumar and Ebrahim all endured spins, whilst Jack Clarke survived a brush with the wall, all cars escaping without damage.

Free Practice One Classification:

1.  Johan Jokinen       1:34.670s
2.  Dean Stoneman         +0.657s
3.  Kazim Vasiliauskas    +0.711s
4.  Philipp Eng           +1.002s
5.  Jolyon Palmer         +1.041s
6.  Ricardo Teixiera      +1.178s
7.  Paul Rees             +1.597s
8.  Nicola De Marco       +1.444s
9.  Sergey Afanasiev      +1.800s
10. Benjamin Bailly       +1.907s

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