LEIMER TOPS FORMULA MASTER TIMES AT IMOLA TEST
Jenzer Motorsport's Fabio Leimer led the times on the first of a two-day International Formula Master (IFM) test in Imola, Italy, today with a best lap of 1:37.512.
Following closely, Josef Kral posted a fastest time of 1:37.624 for JD Motorsport, ahead of team-mate Sergey Afanasiev who completed his best lap in 1:37.641. The second Jenzer Motorsport entry, Pål Varhaug, produced similar pace with a fastest time of 1:37.658.
Vladimir Arabadzhiev, the third JD Motorsport driver, completed the most laps of the day and posted a best time good enough for fifth overall (1:37.833) despite showing as second fastest in the morning session.
Cram Competition's Alessandro Kouskin was sixth with a time of 1:37.935, whilst the Iris Project duo of Simon Trummer and Patrick Reiterer posted the seventh and eighth fastest laps of the day with times of 1:38.056 and 1:38.209 respectively.
Trident Racing's Alexander Rossi was the only newcomer taking part in today's test and recorded a fastest lap of 1:38.665 on his first outing in a Formula Master car. "It was the first time at the track and with the team as well as in the Formula Master car so there is a lot of work to be done but realistically it was a good first day," said the 17-year-old American who won the Formula BMW final in 2008.
"The car is very different from the BMW; it is an amazingly nice car to drive, the amount of power and grip it has is very impressive. It can carry so much power in corners; I had to get used to the fact that you can go for it and it'll stick. It was really good fun to drive and I look forward to improving my pace tomorrow, especially on new tyres."
2008 IFM Champion Chris van der Drift also took part in today's test with the Formula Master development car. "We focused on the brakes today, trying different parts within the 2009 upgrade. It felt good to drive the updated Formula Master car; it's more powerful and the engine is smoother through the power range. It's yet another step up from the original single-seater."
Formula Master - Imola official testing
Day One: morning - top eight
1. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:37.782
2. Vladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), JD Motorsport, 1:38.100
3. Patrick Reiterer (ITA), Iris Project, 1:38.209
4. Simon Trummer (SUI), Iris Project, 1:38.280
5. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), JD Motorsport, 1:38.543
6. Filip Salaquarda (CZH), ISR, 1:38.815
7. Josef Kral (CZH), JD Motorsport, 1:38.963
8. Alessandro Kouskin (RUS), Cram Competition, 1:38.986
Formula Master - Imola official testing
Day One: afternoon - top eight
1. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:37.512
2. Josef Kral (CZH), JD Motorsport, 1:37.624
3. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), JD Motorsport, 1:37.641
4. Pål Varhaug (NOR), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:37.658
5. Vladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), JD Motorsport, 1:37.833
6. Alessandro Kouskin (RUS), Cram Competition, 1:37.935
7. Simon Trummer (SUI), Iris Project, 1:38.056
8. Filip Salaquarda (CZH), ISR, 1:38.302
Formula Master - Imola official testing
Day One - overall
1. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:37.512
2. Josef Kral (CZH), JD Motorsport, 1:37.624
3. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), JD Motorsport, 1:37.641
4. Pål Varhaug (NOR), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:37.658
5. Vladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), JD Motorsport, 1:37.833
6. Alessandro Kouskin (RUS), Cram Competition, 1:37.935
7. Simon Trummer (SUI), Iris Project, 1:38.056
8. Patrick Reiterer (ITA), Iris Project, 1:38.209
9. Filip Salaquarda (CZH), ISR, 1:38.302
10. Erik Janis (CZH), ISR, 1:38.455
11. Mihai Marinescu (ROM), AR Racing, 1:38.516
12. Alexander Rossi (USA), Trident Racing, 1:38.665
13. Kelvin Snoeks (NED), AR Racing, 1:38.817
14. Henry Surtees (GBR), Team JVA, 1:39.045
