Silverstone – Collective Testing 2
The dominant force in the first day of collective testing, Valtteri Bottas (Motopark Academy) confirmed his presence on the Silverstone track with an impressive lead in each of the day's sessions. The Finnish leads Mathieu Arzeno (Epsilon Sport) and Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula).
The forty-two Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 competitors were split into two groups for Friday's two collective testing sessions on.
In the first group of even numbered cars, Roberto Mehri (Epsilon Euskadi) set the fastest lap of the morning during a session fraught with red flags. On his last attempt, the seventeen year-old Spaniard nudged Daniel Mc Kenzie (Fortec Motorsport) into second place with a time of 1'46''779. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (BVM Minardi Team) was getting quicker at the end of the session, finishing in second position and putting two British drivers in the top three places. Pal Varhaug (Jenzer Motorsport) and Mathieu Arzeno (Epsilon Sport) completed the top 5.
One incident worth noting was Miguel Otegui (Iquick), who seriously damaged his car after crashing out in the second session. Despite the mechanics best efforts, the Spaniard was unable to participate in the second session.
After lunch, Roberto Mehri once again spent the majority of the session in first place, improving on his best time of the morning. However, the situation changed as the end of the session drew closer. Daniel Ricciardo (SG Formula) took first position, before Mathieu Arzeno had the final word in group 1 with a time of 1'45''972.
In group 2, Valtteri Bottas appeared to own the track. The Finn immediately filled the top rank. Only Dean Smith (Fortec Motorsport) seemed to come close to challenging the leader, briefly holding first position. But Bottas was on form and improved his time further. With a lap-time of 1'46''566 he was the only driver to beat his previous day's pace. Valtteri Bottas continued his efforts driving a sub-1'46'' lap. With a final time of 1'45''554 he finished more than a second faster than Dean Smith. Himar Acosta (Iquick) was third quickest, ahead of Michel Faccin (Jenzer Motorsport) and Siso Cunil (Jenzer Motorsport).
The second session appeared to be more open, even if the teams were concentrating more on race set-up than pure performance. Cesar Ramos (BVM Minardi Team) spent the majority of the session in first position. The final minutes changed everything when Valtteri Bottas, true to form, improved on his previous performance and snatched the top-spot with a time of 1'45''386. He finished the session ahead of Stéphane Richelmi (Epsilon Sport) and Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi).
Valtteri Bottas: «I really like this track. We've made some improvements to the overall handling of my car and I've improved my driving style as things weren't quite right yesterday. We've also worked hard for the race. I'm confident for qualifying as I've set quick times in both sessions.»
Mathieu Arzeno: «Yesterday we tried a different set-up on each of the different Epsilon Sport cars. Finally, I decided to go with the same settings as Stéphane Richelmi. We've got a competitive package. This has really given everone a boost after a difficult start to the season at Spa.»
- Blanca de Foronda -
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