Regularity for SRT in FFSA GT Nogaro

SRT FFSA-GT 2007

For SRT this first weekend of the French FFSA-GT championship was more one of regularity than pure speed. The French duo Cazenave and Cayrolle, up against some strong opposition, twice clinched a sixth place and scored the necessary points in the championship. "We experienced some problems adapting to the new Pirelli rubber", Patrick Selleslagh explained.

"Tyre wear was pretty heavy and the drivers were unable to get the utmost out of the car’s performance. During the coming test days in Dijon we’re going to be concentrating on fine tuning the setup and we’re aiming at being in the top-5 for the next round. But the competition here in France is pretty heavy and therefore it is important to always score points, which is exactly what we did this weekend."

The weekend started off perfectly for the Belgian team. The French newcomer Laurent Cazenave slotted the C5-R on the front row next to the quasi unbeatable Oreca Saleen of Narac and Ayari. In France the B-drivers take the first qualifying session for their account and as such start in the first race.

"The car was really fast and I was full of confidence, giving me the trust to go all out and attack, and during the race also", Cazenave commented on his great performance.

During the first race, held on Easter Sunday, the driver from the region followed up on his qualifying performance. Cazenave started off well, being the only driver to keep the Saleen in his sights and at the halfway mark came through as race leader.

"Even so I was getting worried during the race", Cazenave told us after his stint. "I could feel the rear tyres were wearing very quickly and I was systematically losing grip. I was however able to adapt to the difficult situation and kept on going at the same pace.

Unfortunately my team-mate Eric Cayrolle appeared to have more problems with the delicate handling of the Corvette. He just couldn’t get into his rhythm and lost lots of valuable time. We finally finished sixth, on the one hand rather disappointing after the great qualifying session, but on the other hand we have scored some points and from previous experience we know that regularity in this championship is a trump card."

During the qualifying sessions on Easter Monday Cayrolle managed a seventh place on the grid, but still was not 100% satisfied. "During my fast lap I made two small mistakes and just missed out staying in touch with the other ‘Vettes’. Pity.."

The race was adequate and Cayrolle held fast in a second group. Cazenave was still able to make up a place, but the difference with the leaders was just too big. "I was able to make up some 20 seconds, and when I realised there wasn’t much more I could do I decided to play it safe and defend my place."

The following race of the French championship will be held at Ledenon in three weeks time. In the meanwhile SRT is travelling to Dijon for a two day test session with a view to Ledenon and Silverstone, where Tom Cloet and Pertti Kuismanen will be defending the team’s colours.

"We will be testing one day with Pirellis and one day shod with Michelin tyres.", Selleslagh quickly added. "We need to find the correct setup for both types of tyres, to make things easier each time we need to swap over." 

- SRT, also photos -