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22.03.2008
Eurocup Megane Trophy Returns to action Collective testing Barcelona The Eurocup Megane Trophy drivers had their first opportunity to up against one another as they gathered at the Barcelona circuit in this, their first outing of the season. Four drivers stood out as the men in form and fought it out over the two days for supremacy: Michaël Rossi (TDS), Mike Verschurr (Equipe Verschurr 1), Bernhard Ten Brinke (Equipe Verschurr 1) and Dimitri Enjalbert (Tech 1 Racing 1). Rossi made the ideal start to the year, beating his rivals to take the test's best time. For a good many drivers, this first day of testing was above all a question of getting back into the swing of things, whereas others, such as Julien Beltoise (Team Lompech Sport), were experiencing the Eurocup Megane Trophy for the first time. "This is my first time in a Mégane Trophy and I haven't driven on a race track since 1998! I'm in a good team and have a powerful car, so I hope I can improve pretty quickly", declared the Frenchman. Dutch driver Mike Verschurr (Equipe Verschurr 1) held the best time at the end of the first session: "My car was running very well. I'm really pleased with it, just as I am with the team, which is really well placed for this season". However, the action really only heated up at the end of the afternoon. The lead changed hands on several occasions, as Bernhard Ten Brinke (Equipe Verschurr 1) improved his teammate's time, and then Dimitri Enjalbert (Tech 1 Racing 1) briefly took top spot before Ten Brinke responded and moved back into first position. Just as the session was drawing to a close, Michaël Rossi, who is now in his second season in the category, grabbed the day's best time, with a lap of 1'52''150, finishing ahead of Ten Brinke, Enjalbert, Verschurr and Beltoise. The battle between these drivers continued into day two. The standings in Friday morning's session were little changed from Thursday as Rossi led from Ten Brinke, Verschurr and Enjalbert. However, none of them could get close to the previous day's time to beat. As is often the case, the lap times only really began to come down as the session drew to a close. Bernhard Ten Brinke, with a lap timed at 1'52''281, came close to taking Rossi's lead. That was enough to sting the TDS driver into action, who moved up a gear. Rossi improved his time on two successive laps. As the only driver to dip below the 1'52 mark, he comes away from Barcelona with the test's best time: 1'51''910, ahead of Bernhard Ten Brinke, Dimitri Enjalbert, Mike Verschurr and Jonathan Hirsch (Tech 1 Racing 2). The next collective test session will be held at the Paul Ricard HTTT on April 8-9. - Blanca de Foronda-
Author: maggy (admin2)
Last modified: Saturday, 22.03.2008 - 01:54 More reports from this category all copyright automobilsport.com.
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