23/10/07 - Barcelona Presentation
Ahead of the final meeting, Tech 1 Racing is sure to win the three championships: the Driver and Junior titles will be won by either Pedro Petiz or Dimitri Enjalbert, whilst the Team title will also go the French outfit, regardless of this weekend's results. As proved again by Maxime Martin (Boutsen Energy Racing) in Estoril, the black and white armada is not however invincible. The likes of Walfisch, Meichtry, Verschuur, Rossi and Badey will be looking to finish the season on a high with a win
Who will win the 2007 Eurocup Mégane Trophy: Pedro Petiz or Dimitri Enjalbert? Ahead of the Barcelona round, 29 points stand between the two team-mates, which means that the Portuguese ace will be crowned champion if he can collect five points this weekend, regardless of the result of the French driver.
The suspense is somewhat limited then, although the Eurocup is known for its dramatic last-minute twists. In any event, you can be sure that Petiz will not ease off until he is certain that he cannot be caught! It would be fitting for the title to go to the only driver to have finished in the points in every race so far this season. Pedro was more than a little moved as he collected his fourth win of the season in front of his home fans in Estoril!
Dimitri Enjalbert is more than happy with his runner-up spot: «Everyone said at the start of the season that it would be difficult for me to fight for the title given the quality of the field and my inexperience both in terms of the car and the tracks. But here I am heading into the final weekend still in the title race it's fantastic!»
A good way back of these two men, a fierce battle rages for the third spot on the podium. Thanks to his win in Portugal, Maxime Martin unseated Ralph Meichtry (Race Performance) from third place. The Swiss driver will be fighting to get back third, a place that he has held for the majority of the season!
The struggle for the final place in the top 5 also promises to be intense. Not expected to do as well as he has at the start of the season, Bernhard Ten Brinke (Equipe Verschuur) has been one of the pleasant surprises of the 2007 Eurocup. His position is however under threat from the ever-impressive Matthieu Lahaye (Tech 1 Racing) and Fabrice Walfisch (Team Lompech Sport), who will certainly be aiming to win these last two races.
After a season full of highs and lows, Mike Verschuur (Equipe Verschuur), Michaël Rossi (Racing for Belgium), Sébastien Dhouailly (Tech 1 Racing) and Ludovic Badey (TDS) will be looking to go out on a high and secure their place in the final top 10.
This final meeting will see several drivers return to action: Jean-Philippe Madonia (TDS), Renaud Kuppens (Boutsen Energy Racing) and Wim Coekelbergs (Racing for Belgium) will all be back behind the wheel after being out for varying periods. Massimiliano Pedala will on the other hand be given a baptism of fire: the winner of the 2007 Italian Clio Cup will make his Eurocup debut for Oregon Team alongside Giuseppe Ciro.
In the Junior championship, the situation is more or less the same as in the Driver standings, with the trio of Petiz, Enjalbert and Martin at the top. Behind these three, however, the battle for fourth is far from over, with Dhouailly and Lahaye level on points and just four ahead of Verschuur!
N° Team (Home country) Drivers (Nation - Citizenship) Junior
1 Tech 1 Racing (FRA) Matthieu LAHAYE (FRA) J
5 Equipe Verschuur (NED) Mike VERSCHUUR (NED) J
6 Equipe Verschuur (NED) Wim BEELEN (NED)
7 Equipe Verschuur (NED) Bernhard TEN BRINKE (NED)
8 Race Performance (SUI) Ralph MEICHTRY (SUI)
9 TDS (FRA) Jean-Philippe MADONIA (FRA)
10 Boutsen Energy Racing (BEL) Renaud KUPPENS (BEL)
11 Boutsen Energy Racing (BEL) Maxime MARTIN (BEL) J
12 Sesterheim Racing (DEU) Andreas MAYERL (AUT)
14 Oregon Team (ITA) Giuseppe CIRO' (ITA)
15 Oregon Team (ITA) Massimiliano PEDALA (ITA)
16 Team Lompech Sport (FRA) Jean - Charles MIGINIAC (FRA)
17 Team Lompech Sport (FRA) Fabrice WALFISCH (FRA)
20 TDS (FRA) Ludovic BADEY (FRA)
21 TDS (FRA) Matthieu CHERUY (FRA) J
22 Racing For Belgium (BEL) Michaël ROSSI (FRA) J
23 Racing For Belgium (BEL) Wim COEKELBERGS (BEL)
31 Tech 1 Racing (FRA) Dimitri ENJALBERT (FRA) J
32 Tech 1 Racing (FRA) Pedro PETIZ (POR) J
33 Tech 1 Racing (FRA) Sébastien DHOUAILLY (FRA) J
72 Equipe Verschuur (NED) Greg FRANCHI (BEL)
99 Renault Sport Presse (FRA) Yvan LEBON (FRA)
99 Renault Sport Presse (FRA) Nacho GABARI (ESP)
- Blanca de Foronda-
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