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02.05.2008
Valtteri Bottas right up there! Consistently quick in all the pre-season collective tests, Valtteri Bottas (Motopark Academy) was easily fastest of the 48 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers. The Finn finished ahead of Roberto Merhi (Epsilon Euskadi) and Jean-Éric Vergne (SG Driver Project). Two 30-minute sessions of collective testing marked the start of the first meeting of the season. With 48 single-seaters, the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 grid is packed out this year! The first session was interrupted twice by the red flag. Richard Singleton (Hi-Tech Junior team) led at the midway point of the session, in front of Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) and Pal Varhaug (Jenzer Motorsport). In the second part of the session, Valtteri Bottas stepped up the pace, taking control with a time of 2'21''733. The Finn improved his time with each lap, completing his fastest in 2'20''884. The Italian, Michel Faccin (Jenzer Motorsport), bettered Bottas' time before another red flag put an end to the session. The Jenzer Motorsport driver therefore set the session's best time ahead of Valtteri Bottas, Mathieu Arzeno (Epsilon Sport), Andrea Caldarelli (SG Formula) and Adrian Quaif-Hobbs (BVM Minardi Team), all of whom improved their performance towards the end of the session. From the start of the second session, everyone got straight down to business. Within a matter of minutes, the lead had changed hands several times. Valtteri Bottas gained the upper hand before Andrea Caldarelli turned in the best performance of 2'20''407. Second-placed Michel Faccini confirmed his good form. Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula) completed the top three. After a quiet start, Roberto Merhi dislodged Ricciardo from the third row at the end of the session. This came as a warning to the other drivers: it was time to start pushing the pace. Valtteri Bottas seized the opportunity and moved to the top of the timesheet with 2'19''751. Merhi continued his assault, occupying the second row ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne. Five minutes before the end of the session, the red flag broke everyone's momentum. The session did not restart, meaning Valtteri Bottas was fastest in front of Roberto Merhi, Jean-Éric Vergne, Andrea Caldarelli, Michel Faccin and Daniel Ricciardo. So, Valtteri Bottas starts the season in the most fitting manner by setting the pace. «Everything's going well so far. The car is competitive. On worn tyres this morning, the times were good. On new tyres, the times were considerably better, even if it was difficult to get a clear lap." The Spaniard Roberto Merhi was also up with the pace: «During the first session, we were interrupted by red flags. I didn't really get the chance to show off my skills. On new tyres, at the end of the session, it was better. The performance is there, but I really think that during qualifying, when we are separated into two groups, it will be easier to go out there and set quick times." Jean-Éric Vergne, third overall, was top Rookie: «The track is fantastic. I'd never driven here before except in Collective Testing at the beginning of April. However, I've been round it a few times on my games console! My time was good but I wasn't consistent. We still have a lot of things to try in terms of set-up.» At the end of the afternoon, the drivers will be split into two groups for qualifying. The first twelve from each group will qualify for the SuperPole which takes place on Saturday morning.
Pos Driver Team Time S1 Lap S1 Time S2 Lap S2 Time Gap First Gap Previous 1 Valtteri BOTTAS MOTOPARK ACADEMY 2:20.884 6 2:19.751 6 2:19.751 2 Roberto MERHI EPSILON EUSKADI 2 2:21.534 5 2:19.797 8 2:19.797 +0.046 +0.046 3 Jean Eric VERGNE SG DRIVERS PROJECT 2:22.062 5 2:20.314 6 2:20.314 +0.563 +0.517 4 Andrea CALDARELLI SG FORMULA 2:21.221 5 2:20.407 3 2:20.407 +0.656 +0.093 5 Michele FACCIN JENZER MOTORSPORT 2:20.767 7 2:20.411 3 2:20.411 +0.660 +0.004 6 Daniel RICCIARDO SG FORMULA 2:21.425 4 2:20.459 3 2:20.459 +0.708 +0.048 7 Siso CUNILL JENZER MOTORSPORT 2:21.673 6 2:20.512 5 2:20.512 +0.761 +0.053 8 Mathieu ARZENO EPSILON SPORT 2:21.185 7 2:20.756 7 2:20.756 +1.005 +0.244 9 Tobias HEGEWALD MOTOPARK ACADEMY 2:22.991 5 2:20.812 6 2:20.812 +1.061 +0.056 10 Albert COSTA EPSILON EUSKADI 2 2:21.602 6 2:20.862 4 2:20.862 +1.111 +0.050 11 Pal VARHAUG JENZER MOTORSPORT 2:22.253 7 2:20.929 4 2:20.929 +1.178 +0.067 12 Paul MEIJER MP MOTORSPORT 2:22.207 7 2:21.084 4 2:21.084 +1.333 +0.155 13 Kuba GIERMAZIAK TEAM MOTOPARK 2:22.444 5 2:21.130 4 2:21.130 +1.379 +0.046 14 Adrian QUAIFE-HOBBS BVM MINARDI TEAM 2:21.307 6 2:21.242 7 2:21.242 +1.491 +0.112 15 Richard SINGLETON HITECH JUNIOR TEAM 2:21.776 6 2:21.347 8 2:21.347 +1.596 +0.105 16 Daniel ZAMPIERI BVM MINARDI TEAM 2:21.440 7 2:21.363 7 2:21.363 +1.612 +0.016 17 Cesar RAMOS BVM MINARDI TEAM 2:21.416 7 2:21.686 5 2:21.416 +1.665 +0.053 18 Nelson LUKES SG FORMULA 2:23.107 5 2:21.474 3 2:21.474 +1.723 +0.058 19 Dean SMITH FORTEC MOTORSPORT 2:22.179 8 2:21.507 4 2:21.507 +1.756 +0.033 20 Luciano BACHETA HITECH JUNIOR RACING 2:22.869 6 2:21.514 3 2:21.514 +1.763 +0.007 21 Miki MONRAS HITECH JUNIOR TEAM 2:24.295 7 2:21.554 7 2:21.554 +1.803 +0.040 22 Stephane RICHELMI EPSILON SPORT 2:21.937 7 2:21.639 7 2:21.639 +1.888 +0.085 23 Jake ROSENZWEIG EPSILON EUSKADI 1 2:22.702 6 2:21.701 6 2:21.701 +1.950 +0.062 24 Richard CAMPOLLO EPSILON EUSKADI 1 0 2:21.876 5 2:21.876 +2.125 +0.175 25 Juan Pablo GARCÍA TEAM MOTOPARK 2:23.207 6 2:21.908 7 2:21.908 +2.157 +0.032 26 Himar ACOSTA IQUICK 2:22.321 7 2:21.913 6 2:21.913 +2.162 +0.005 27 Antonio Felix DA COSTA MOTOPARK 1 2:23.082 7 2:21.915 8 2:21.915 +2.164 +0.002 28 Alex MORGAN FORTEC COMPETITION 2:22.100 8 2:22.253 4 2:22.100 +2.349 +0.185 29 Juan JACOBO HITECH JUNIOR RACING 0 2:22.118 7 2:22.118 +2.367 +0.018 30 Anton NEBILITSKYI SG DRIVERS PROJECT 2:24.195 5 2:22.128 5 2:22.128 +2.377 +0.010 31 Gabriel DIAS FORTEC COMPETITION 2:22.688 7 2:22.160 8 2:22.160 +2.409 +0.032 32 Adam KOUT KRENEK MOTORSPORT 2:22.956 6 2:22.245 6 2:22.245 +2.494 +0.085 33 Vinicius SAMMARONE MOTOPARK 2 2:24.099 6 2:22.398 3 2:22.398 +2.647 +0.153 34 Miguel OTEGI IQUICK 2:23.675 7 2:22.444 6 2:22.444 +2.693 +0.046 35 Ramez AZZAM SG DRIVERS PROJECT 2:23.466 6 2:22.444 4 2:22.444 +2.693 +0.000 36 Nicolas MARROC TCS RACING 2:23.172 9 2:22.455 5 2:22.455 +2.704 +0.011 37 Carlos MUÑOZ PREMA POWERTEAM 2:23.241 6 2:22.490 3 2:22.490 +2.739 +0.035 38 Nathanaël BERTHON BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING 2:25.687 5 2:22.516 3 2:22.516 +2.765 +0.026 39 Daniel MCKENZIE FORTEC MOTORSPORT 2:22.613 8 2:22.672 4 2:22.613 +2.862 +0.097 40 Nicky CATSBURG MP MOTORSPORT 2:23.915 5 2:22.711 4 2:22.711 +2.960 +0.098 41 Patrick REITERER PREMA POWERTEAM 2:22.967 6 2:22.769 8 2:22.769 +3.018 +0.058 42 Pablo MONTILLA EPSILON EUSKADI 1 2:23.198 6 2:22.788 4 2:22.788 +3.037 +0.019 43 Tristan VAUTIER EPSILON SPORT 2:22.836 8 2:23.676 7 2:22.836 +3.085 +0.048 44 Mateusz ADAMSKI MP MOTORSPORT 2:24.603 7 2:23.441 7 2:23.441 +3.690 +0.605 45 Vasiliauskas KAZIMIERAS PREMA POWERTEAM 2:24.009 7 2:23.728 5 2:23.728 +3.977 +0.287 46 Marcelo CONCHADO AMITER GALUPPO SPORT 2:28.375 5 2:25.049 5 2:25.049 +5.298 +1.321 47 Dino BUTORAC RB RACING TEAM 2:30.945 6 2:27.079 6 2:27.079 +7.328 +2.030 48 Jakub KNOLL KRENEK MOTORSPORT 2:35.078 5 2:27.937 6 2:27.937 +8.186 +0.858
- Blanca de Foronda-
Author: automobilsport.com copyright (maggyp)
Last modified: Friday, 02.05.2008 - 06:03 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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