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Jolyon Palmer continued his strong start to his 2014 GP2 preparations by topping the second day of pre-season testing in Abu Dhabi.

The DAMS driver, who headed the timesheets on day one, hit the front late in the morning and was never dislodged.

His ultimate best, a 1m50.311s, left him more than half a second clear of the field at lunch.

Trident newboy Johnny Cecotto and ART's Formula Renault 3.5 convert Stoffel Vandoorne both ate into Palmer's advantage in the afternoon, but were still 0.4s adrift as the chequered flag came down.

Their progress meant Palmer's team-mate Stephane Richelmi, who had been second in the first session, had to settle for fourth overall.

Jon Lancaster, one of three drivers at the test without a full-time drive, was fifth fastest for the MP Motorsport squad.

Campos's Kimiya Sato and Russian Time's Mitch Evans rounded out the top seven, with both men setting their fastest times in the morning.

Red flags once again caused frequent interruptions, the worst of which came when Conor Daly, on a quick lap, collided with Facu Regalia in the final hour of the morning.

The American was flicked into a barrel roll and landed upside down. He was taken to the medical centre, and while he escaped serious injury did not return for the afternoon.

Combined Wednesday testing times: Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps 1. Jolyon Palmer DAMS 1m50.311s 63 2. Johnny Cecotto Jr Trident 1m50.760s +0.449s 29 3. Stoffel Vandoorne ART 1m50.821s +0.510s 44 4. Stephane Richelmi DAMS 1m50.947s +0.636s 63 5. Jon Lancaster MP 1m51.005s +0.694s 50 6. Kimiya Sato Campos 1m51.204s +0.893s 51 7. Mitch Evans Russian Time 1m51.231s +0.920s 42 8. Andre Negrao Arden 1m51.237s +0.926s 49 9. Rio Haryanto Caterham 1m51.445s +1.134s 62 10. Alexander Rossi Caterham 1m51.484s +1.173s 66 11. Daniel de Jong MP 1m51.590s +1.279s 32 12. Facu Regalia Hilmer 1m51.614s +1.303s 29 13. Daniel Abt Hilmer 1m51.668s +1.357s 35 14. Arthur Pic Campos 1m51.769s +1.458s 58 15. Felipe Nasr Carlin 1m51.810s +1.499s 47 16. Conor Daly Lazarus 1m51.846s +1.535s 12 17. Julian Leal Carlin 1m51.893s +1.582s 39 18. Raffaele Marciello Racing Engineering 1m52.024s +1.713s 59 19. Rene Binder Arden 1m52.038s +1.727s 36 20. Artem Markelov Russian Time 1m52.341s +2.030s 56 21. Stefano Coletti Racing Engineering 1m52.404s +2.093s 49 22. Takuya Izawa ART 1m52.528s +2.217s 49 23. Nathanael Berthon Lazarus 1m52.580s +2.269s 28 24. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs Rapax 1m52.595s +2.284s 36 25. Simon Trummer Rapax 1m52.640s +2.329s 44 26. Axcil Jefferies Trident 1m52.944s +2.633s 41