05/09/08 - Le Mans – Collective testing - Day 2

With the exception of the Monaco meeting, something of a case apart, the Formula Renault 3.5 Series competitors have hardly had the opportunity to test their skills in the rain this season. In wet conditions yesterday, the Ultimate Signature drivers were the stand-out performers: Esteban Guerrieri clocked the best time of the morning session, while Fabio Carbone was the fastest driver this afternoon. It's been a rainy old Friday here at Le Mans. Wet-tread tyres and wet-track setups were the order of the day for the twenty-six Formula Renault 3.5 cars in action.

All the drivers took to the track immediately for a trial run before heading back to the pits. James Walker (Fortec Motorsport) took the lead with a lap timed at 1'50''635, with Marco Bonanomi (Red Devil Team Comtec) and Fabio Carbone (Ultimate Signature) just behind.

With the conditions getting no better as the session progressed, the drivers took no unnecessary risks, but Argentine driver Esteban Guerrieri (Ultimate Signature) still managed to take the lead midway through proceedings, before improving his time to 1'48''933.

As the end of the first session drew near, the chasing pack gradually chipped away at Guerrieri's lead. Charles Pic (Tech 1 Racing) grabbed second place, then improved his time to move into top spot.

Guerrieri, who looked in sterling form in the rain, soon bounced back with a time of 1'47''343, with Miguel Molina (Prema Powerteam) sneaking in between him and Pic to claim second position. "It's the first time I've driven the car on wet-tread tyres,» explained the Brazilian. "We quickly found a good setup and then improved on it. We were quick yesterday in the dry, so I really don't mind what the conditions are like this weekend!"

The conditions improved slightly in the afternoon, though the track remained very wet. Salvador Duran (Interwetten.com Racing) was the first to beat Guerrieri's time. Then the lead, having been held by an Argentine and a Mexican, passed to a Brazilian, as Fabio Carbone clocked a time of 1'46''230.

There was an action-packed end to the session, with performances improving constantly. The lead changed hands on a number of occasions, first to Charles Pic, then to Mikhail Aleshin and finally to Fabio Carbone, whose 1'44''823 would remain the best time of the session. "The car has excellent grip in the rain," said Carbone. "It really is performing well, and we quickly found a way to get the best out of it in these conditions. Whatever the conditions, we are competitive. We will do everything we can to get another win under our belts and make up some ground in the Championship. We couldn't have wished for a better start to the weekend."

Mikhail Aleshin (Carlin Motorsport) clocked the day's second-fastest time, ahead of Marco Bonanomi and Charles Pic.

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS 

1 28 Esteban GUERRIERI ULTIMATE-SIGNATURE 15 1:47.343 - 140.2 16   2 9 Miguel MOLINA PREMA POWERTEAM 17 1:47.863 +0.520 139.5 18   3 2 Charles PIC TECH 1 RACING 13 1:47.930 +0.587 139.4 16   4 21 Giedo Van Der GARDE P1 MOTORSPORT 16 1:47.954 +0.611 139.4 17   5 23 James WALKER FORTEC MOTORSPORT 10 1:48.059 +0.716 139.3 12   6 27 Fabio CARBONE ULTIMATE-SIGNATURE 15 1:48.320 +0.977 138.9 16   7 4 Marco BARBA INTERNATIONAL DRACO RACING 12 1:48.653 +1.310 138.5 17   8 12 Paolo Maria NOCERA RC MOTORSPORT 16 1:48.674 +1.331 138.5 17   9 26 Pasquale DiSABATINO RED DEVIL TEAM COMTEC 10 1:48.992 +1.649 138.1 13   10 5 Mikhail ALESHIN CARLIN MOTORSPORT 12 1:49.161 +1.818 137.9 14   11 25 Marco BONANOMI RED DEVIL TEAM COMTEC 15 1:49.353 +2.010 137.6 16   12 6 Robert WICKENS CARLIN MOTORSPORT 12 1:49.364 +2.021 137.6 14   13 20 Pablo SANCHEZ INTERWETTEN.COM RACING 15 1:49.443 +2.100 137.5 18   14 19 Salvador DURAN INTERWETTEN.COM RACING 14 1:49.448 +2.105 137.5 17   15 8 Alexandre MARSOIN EPSILON-EUSKADI 14 1:49.818 +2.475 137.0 15   16 24 Fairuz FAUZY FORTEC MOTORSPORT 11 1:50.007 +2.664 136.8 12   17 7 Mario ROMANCINI EPSILON-EUSKADI 14 1:50.357 +3.014 136.4 15   18 10 Alvaro BARBA PREMA POWERTEAM 15 1:50.482 +3.139 136.2 18   19 14 Aleix ALCARAZ PONS RACING 14 1:50.504 +3.161 136.2 16   20 17 Sergey AFANASIEV KTR 16 1:50.669 +3.326 136.0 17   21 11 Claudio CANTELLI RC MOTORSPORT 14 1:50.699 +3.356 135.9 15   22 1 Julien JOUSSE TECH 1 RACING 11 1:50.984 +3.641 135.6 13   23 16 Siso CUNILL KTR 15 1:51.878 +4.535 134.5 17   24 15 Marcos MARTINEZ PONS RACING 2 1:52.100 +4.757 134.2 4   25 22 Pippa MANN P1 MOTORSPORT 15 1:53.965 +6.622 132.0 16   26 3 Bertrand BAGUETTE INTERNATIONAL DRACO RACING 3 1:54.721 +7.378 131.2 5  

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS 

1 27 Fabio CARBONE ULTIMATE-SIGNATURE 14 1:44.823 - 143.6 16   2 5 Mikhail ALESHIN CARLIN MOTORSPORT 17 1:45.533 +0.710 142.6 19   3 25 Marco BONANOMI RED DEVIL TEAM COMTEC 19 1:45.933 +1.110 142.1 19   4 2 Charles PIC TECH 1 RACING 7 1:45.972 +1.149 142.0 8   5 15 Marcos MARTINEZ PONS RACING 7 1:46.023 +1.200 141.9 7   6 28 Esteban GUERRIERI ULTIMATE-SIGNATURE 10 1:46.137 +1.314 141.8 12   7 21 Giedo Van Der GARDE P1 MOTORSPORT 21 1:46.310 +1.487 141.5 22   8 9 Miguel MOLINA PREMA POWERTEAM 12 1:46.332 +1.509 141.5 20   9 23 James WALKER FORTEC MOTORSPORT 14 1:46.385 +1.562 141.4 19   10 3 Bertrand BAGUETTE INTERNATIONAL DRACO RACING 15 1:46.590 +1.767 141.2 19   11 19 Salvador DURAN INTERWETTEN.COM RACING 14 1:46.643 +1.820 141.1 18   12 4 Marco BARBA INTERNATIONAL DRACO RACING 7 1:46.909 +2.086 140.8 20   13 8 Alexandre MARSOIN EPSILON-EUSKADI 18 1:46.938 +2.115 140.7 19   14 6 Robert WICKENS CARLIN MOTORSPORT 15 1:46.970 +2.147 140.7 16   15 26 Pasquale DiSABATINO RED DEVIL TEAM COMTEC 12 1:47.291 +2.468 140.3 17   16 1 Julien JOUSSE TECH 1 RACING 15 1:47.434 +2.611 140.1 19   17 24 Fairuz FAUZY FORTEC MOTORSPORT 10 1:47.455 +2.632 140.0 16   18 12 Paolo Maria NOCERA RC MOTORSPORT 13 1:47.548 +2.725 139.9 18   19 10 Alvaro BARBA PREMA POWERTEAM 15 1:48.074 +3.251 139.2 20   20 17 Sergey AFANASIEV KTR 12 1:48.144 +3.321 139.1 16   21 22 Pippa MANN P1 MOTORSPORT 19 1:48.269 +3.446 139.0 19   22 7 Mario ROMANCINI EPSILON-EUSKADI 18 1:48.464 +3.641 138.7 18   23 20 Pablo SANCHEZ INTERWETTEN.COM RACING 12 1:48.499 +3.676 138.7 17   24 14 Aleix ALCARAZ PONS RACING 6 1:48.796 +3.973 138.3 8   25 11 Claudio CANTELLI RC MOTORSPORT 18 1:48.958 +4.135 138.1 18   26 16 Siso CUNILL KTR 14 1:48.966 +4.143 138.1 18