iSport delighted with Speed's speed.

GP2 Series pacesetters iSport International will carry the prestigious number one plate in this year's inaugural championship, after American Scott Speed eclipsed a 24-strong field to post the fastest time in Wednesday's special 'qualifying' sessions.

Following on from two days of testing at the series' adopted home at Paul Ricard, Speed again showed the sort of pace that had left F1 followers impressed during his recent Red Bull Racing test, to end the final day three-tenths of a second faster than any one of his rivals, claiming numbers one and two for a team formed only shortly before the GP2 Series was announced in 2004. Indeed, such was his domination of the all-important session, Speed produced two laps that were comfortably good enough for first position, and moved to the head of the timesheets with only his first flying effort.

"After all the long hours and hard work of the past few weeks, it is very satisfying for the team to be quickest in the first competitive session," team principal Paul Jackson admitted, "Scott has impressed me from the first run in the car and I am sure he has a big future."

Recent sportscar and motorbike testing meant that times were slower than during the previous test, which Speed had topped, but the American was second fastest in the opening morning session, and ended Monday third overall, while Nelson Piquet Jr and Borja Garcia filled the top two positions. Day two was equally productive, and proved to be the first real opportunity to work through some proper set-ups and familiarise the team with various aspects of the car, including full tank running, aerodynamic adjustments and spring settings.

The American's performance also caught the eye of Red Bull Racing advisor Dr Helmut Marko, who was on hand as a guest of the iSport team following his decision to offer Speed a test in the drinks brand's F1 car in Barcelona last week.

"We are very pleased," the Austrian admitted, ignoring suggestions that Speed could fulfil third driver duties for RBR should its driver line-up be altered in coming weeks, "Scott's development is just going up, up, up, helped by a very good job by the team."

iSport team-mate Can Artam had the use of his own car, complete with Crash.net logos, for the first time since GP2 testing began back in February, allowing him to gain valuable experience as he attempts to close the gap on more seasoned rivals.

Day one was spent working through initial set-ups and sorting out teething issues on the brand new car, which meant the Turk was able to run just 32 laps through the entire day. Artam and engineer Richard Selwyn then spent the second day making adjustments to the car after the driver reported seating problems. Despite the team having to produce an entirely new seat, Artam was still able to complete 40 valuable laps as he built up to the launch and qualifying day. However, with all the niggles that occurred earlier in the week, Artam had to play himself into the timed session, eventually winding up in twelfth position.

"Can did not have such a good day, but we should all remember that he has very little experience compared to most of the other competitors and is on a learning curve," Jackson commented, "There is no shame in that. We are working hard with Can and expect him to improve dramatically during the year."