Collective testing 2 – Valencia
It's mission accomplished for Andy Soucek (RC Motorsport)! Just as he did yesterday, the young Spaniard clocked the fastest time of the day, showing just how competitive a car the Italian team RC Motorsport has. The next fastest times went to Miguel Molina (Prema Powerteam) and Marco Barba (International Draco Racing), while Jaime Alguersuari (Carlin Motorsport) was the swiftest rookie on show.
There were a few changes to the driver lineup for the last day of collective testing in 2009. Miguel Molina was back in action with Prema Powerteam, the team he drove for last season. Federico Leo joined forces with RC Motorsport, Claudio Cantelli teamed up with Pons Racing, and Christian Ebbevisk worked with Fortec for the first time.
Italian F3 runner-up Edoardo Piscopo tried his hand at the wheel of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series today with International Draco Racing, while Maxime Martin, second in the 2008 Eurocup Mégane Trophy, made a return to single-seater action with KTR.
Miguel Molina, then Oliver Turvey (Carlin Motorsport), produced the first times of note. The drivers opted for long runs this morning. First Daniil Move (P1 Motorsport), then Stefano Coletti (RC Motorsport) dislodged Turvey from top spot. Marcos Martinez (Pons Racing) then carried on his form from yesterday with a time of 1'22''245, which would not be beaten until the very end of the session, when Marco Barba (1'22''242) shaved three thousandths of a second off Martinez's time to finish the morning at the top of the pile.
The Spanish drivers fared just as well in the afternoon session. Jaime Alguersuari was the first to take the lead, before Miguel Molina outdid him with a time of 1'22''210. Molina was leading when the drivers stopped off at the pits to slip on their last set of fresh tyres this year. Miguel Molina and Andy Soucek battled it out for the quickest time. Molina must have fancied his chances when he clocked 1'21''741. But Soucek hit back immediately, and just like yesterday, he produced the best performance of the day, with a lap timed at 1'21»701.
The Formula Renault 3.5 Series drivers now have a few weeks' rest to look forward to. The next session of collective testing will take place in Jerez in March.
Quote, unquote:
Miguel Molina: "I'd like to thank Epsilon Euskadi, KTR and Prema Powerteam for these tests. Teaming up with Prema Powerteam again today and showing that it's a package that works well is really important for the whole team and for me too!"
Jaime Alguersuari: "I'm very happy because I had time to really get to know the car. Today I really learned how to use the setup to my advantage and get the best out of the car. This is only my fourth day of testing in a FR 3.5. I think I've shown what I'm capable of. We'll see which programme Red Bull chooses."
Edoardo Piscopo: "I was driving in Malaysia on Sunday, yesterday I was in a Ferrari F1 at Fiorano and today I'm here. I drove the old car at the end of 2006, but this is my first experience of the new car. Formula Renault 3.5 Series is my priority for 2009."
Maxime Martin: "It's been a terrific experience! I hadn't driven a single-seater for four years, and that was a Formula Renault 1600! The brakes and the cornering speed are exceptional. It's also a lot more physically demanding than the Mégane! I had a great day."
Pos N° Driver Team Time Gap Lap S1 Lap S2
1 11 SOUCEK Andy RC MOTORSPORT 1:21.701 1:21.701 2 109 MOLINA Miguel PREMA POWERTEAM 1:21.741 0.040 1:22.739 1:21.741 3 4 BARBA Marco INTER. DRACO R. 1:22.101 0.400 1:22.242 1:22.101 4 21 MOVE Daniil P1 MOTORSPORT 1:22.120 0.419 1:22.746 1:22.120 5 2 PIC Charles TECH1 RACING 1:22.178 0.477 1:22.747 1:22.178 6 15 MARTINEZ Marcos PONS RACING 1:22.245 0.544 1:22.245 1:22.563 7 22 WALKER James P1 MOTORSPORT 1:22.254 0.553 1:24.230 1:22.254 8 5 ALGUERSUARI Jaime CARLIN MOTORSPORT 1:22.275 0.574 1:22.531 1:22.275 9 12 COLETTI Stefano RC MOTORSPORT 1:22.280 0.579 1:22.280 10 103 PISCOPO Edoardo INTER.DRACO R. 1:22.640 0.939 1:22.927 1:22.640 11 6 TURVEY Oliver CARLIN MOTORSPORT 1:22.661 0.960 1:22.869 1:22.661 12 8 DISABATINO Pasquale EPSILON EUSKADI 1:22.689 0.988 1:22.858 1:22.689 13 28 MORTARA Edoardo ULTIMATE-SIGNATURE 1:22.774 1.073 1:23.153 1:22.774 14 7 ROSENSWEIG Jake EPSILON EUSKADI 1:22.796 1.095 1:22.851 1:22.796 15 23 PENTUS Sten FORTEC MOTORSPORT 1:22.886 1.185 1:23.370 1:22.886 16 124 EBBESVIK Christian FORTEC MOTORSPORT 1:22.932 1.231 1:23.640 1:22.932 17 20 HEGEWALD Tobias INTERWETTEN.COM 1:22.942 1.241 1:23.607 1:22.942 18 25 CHILTON Max RED DEVIL T.COMTEC 1:22.994 1.293 1:23.011 1:22.994 19 101 GONZALEZ Rodolfo TECH1 RACING 1:23.083 1.382 1:24.405 1:23.083 20 27 MANSELL Greg ULTIMATE-SIGNATURE 1:23.104 1.403 1:23.104 1:23.240 21 114 CANTELLI Claudio PONS RACING 1:23.113 1.412 1:23.160 1:23.113 22 10 LEAL Omar J. PREMA POWERTEAM 1:23.274 1.573 1:24.982 1:23.274 23 126 NEBYLITSKI Anton RED DEVIL T.COMTEC 1:23.719 2.018 1:24.068 1:23.719 24 112 LEO Federico RC MOTORSPORT 1:23.801 2.100 1:24.059 1:23.801 25 117 CUNILL Siso KTR 1:23.826 2.125 1:25.455 1:23.826 26 19 MARINESCU Mihai INTERWETTEN.COM 1:24.138 2.437 1:24.138 27 116 MARTIN Maxime KTR 1:24.510 2.809 1:24.510 1:26.746
