Donington – Collective test
After a brilliant summer of racing in the North European Cup, German ace Frank Kechele (Motopark Academy) seems ready for a challenge: cutting the lead of New Zealander Brendon Hartley (Red Bull Epsilon). Just behind these two, Jon Lancaster (SG Formula) is determined to produce a good display at his home event.
Although still without a Eurocup race win, there can be little doubt that Frank Kechele is getting closer all the time. The German comes to the Donington round on top form and with his confidence high, thanks to three NEC wins this summer. He confirmed his good form by setting the best time in each of the day's one-hour pre-qualifying practice session.
This morning, his main opposition was provided in turn by Mihai Marinescu (District Racing), Charles Pic and Alexandre Marsoin (SG Formula). But in the closing minutes of the session, Kechele set a time which would remain the fastest if the day: 1'28''845.
«I have had a very good summer. I feel really comfortable with the car and everyone at the team has been working very hard. I am excited at the prospect of racing in the Eurocup this weekend. It is one of the most competitive championships out there! There were a lot of red flags today, but everyone has the same handicap. I pushed hard, driving right on the limit for me and the car. My hard work paid off as I ended the day with the best time», emphasized Kechele.
The German's main opponent in the second session, Brendon Hartley is focused on the championship for the Donington weekend: «This is the start of a very long home straight, with the last four meetings in two months. My first three wins have given me a bit of a lead, but I have to keep pushing to win the title. I must stay focused because the slightest error could cost me dearly. This weekend, my objective is simply to score as many points as possible!»
Runner-up in race 1 at the Hungaroring, Jon Lancaster confirmed his improving form with the day's third best time. The SG Formula driver is gunning for nothing less than a race win this weekend: «I know it's ambitious given the line-up, but this is the only meeting of year at home and I would really love to win. The day got off to a bad start when I broke one of the rear shock absorbers this morning. But the team worked hard between the two sessions and I had a very good setup this afternoon.»
Although yet to grab a podium spot, Fabio Leimer (Jenzer Motorsport) was pleased with his fourth best time – and to discover the delights of the English countryside: «This is the first I have come to England and I love the country. Obviously, this is the first time I've driven on this circuit. The place is steeped in motor racing history. This morning, I focused on familiarizing myself with this superb track and then this afternoon, I pushed hard on my fresh set of tyres.»
The last driver in the top five was a newcomer to the discipline: Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (BVM Minardi Team), a convert from Formula BMW. The Brit seems to have been won over by the Formula Renault 2.0 race car: «It's a very different single-seater compared to what I have driven before. It is much more efficient throughout the car. I'm a bit surprised to end the day in the top five, because the championship is extremely competitive. But I'm certainly not complaining – it's fantastic!»
POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS1 6 Frank KECHELE MOTOPARK ACADEMY 19 1:29.009 - 162.7 26 2 18 Brendon HARTLEY EPSILON RED BULL TEAM 16 1:29.056 +0.047 162.6 25 3 3 Jon LANCASTER SG DRIVERS PROJECT 21 1:29.076 +0.067 162.6 27 4 11 Fabio LEIMER JENZER MOTORSPORT 22 1:29.118 +0.109 162.5 26 5 27 Adrian QUAIFE-HOBBS BVM MINARDI TEAM 23 1:29.246 +0.237 162.3 28 6 34 Nelson PANCIATICI BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING 16 1:29.256 +0.247 162.3 19 7 15 Stefano COLETTI EPSILON EUSKADI 20 1:29.280 +0.271 162.2 25 8 19 Jaime ALGUERSUARI EPSILON RED BULL TEAM 25 1:29.330 +0.321 162.1 26 9 5 Oliver OAKES MOTOPARK ACADEMY 12 1:29.453 +0.444 161.9 29 10 2 Charles PIC SG FORMULA 23 1:29.484 +0.475 161.8 27 11 4 Alexandre MARSOIN SG DRIVERS PROJECT 24 1:29.593 +0.584 161.7 26 12 7 Fabio ONIDI MOTORSPORT ARENA 22 1:29.618 +0.609 161.6 28 13 16 Mika MÄKI EPSILON RED BULL TEAM 26 1:29.652 +0.643 161.5 26 14 9 Oliver TURVEY JENZER MOTORSPORT 21 1:29.668 +0.659 161.5 24 15 29 Mihai MARINESCU DISTRICT RACING 26 1:29.683 +0.674 161.5 27 16 23 Andrea CALDARELLI PREMA POWERTEAM 24 1:29.773 +0.764 161.3 30 17 10 Roberto MERHI JENZER MOTORSPORT 20 1:29.961 +0.952 161.0 24 18 25 Henki WALDSCHMIDT PREMA POWERTEAM 26 1:30.115 +1.106 160.7 27 19 24 Martin PLOWMAN PREMA POWERTEAM 23 1:30.125 +1.116 160.7 30 20 26 Cesar RAMOS BVM MINARDI TEAM 20 1:30.154 +1.145 160.6 25 21 22 Federico MUGGIA CRAM COMPETITION 10 1:30.189 +1.180 160.6 24 22 21 Daniele ZAMPIERI CRAM COMPETITION 23 1:30.207 +1.198 160.6 29 23 35 Anton NEBILTSKIY SL FORMULA 26 1:30.260 +1.251 160.5 27 24 32 Tiago PETIZ OMICRON RACING 22 1:30.324 +1.315 160.3 24 25 30 Facundo CROVO OMICRON RACING 19 1:30.511 +1.502 160.0 23 26 33 Stephane RICHELMI BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING 13 1:30.540 +1.531 160.0 24 27 28 Aleix ALCARAZ DISTRICT RACING 26 1:30.578 +1.569 159.9 26 28 8 Tobias HEGEWALD MOTORSPORT ARENA 12 1:30.796 +1.787 159.5 12 29 12 Miquel JULIÀ EPSILON EUSKADI 12 1:30.955 +1.946 159.2 16 30 38 Joe GHANEM CARLIN MOTORSPORT 30 1:31.012 +2.003 159.1 32 31 36 Pedro NUNES SL FORMULA 22 1:31.080 +2.071 159.0 25 32 31 Francesc MORENO OMICRON RACING 20 1:31.359 +2.350 158.5 23 33 14 Pablo MONTILLA EPSILON EUSKADI 27 1:31.501 +2.492 158.3 29 34 37 Khalil BESCHIR CARLIN MOTORSPORT 24 1:32.418 +3.409 156.7 27
POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS
1 6 Frank KECHELE MOTOPARK ACADEMY 29 1:28.845 - 163.0 30 2 4 Alexandre MARSOIN SG DRIVERS PROJECT 23 1:29.413 +0.568 162.0 26 3 2 Charles PIC SG FORMULA 24 1:29.419 +0.574 162.0 28 4 7 Fabio ONIDI MOTORSPORT ARENA 28 1:29.454 +0.609 161.9 30 5 9 Oliver TURVEY JENZER MOTORSPORT 26 1:29.550 +0.705 161.7 28 6 18 Brendon HARTLEY EPSILON RED BULL TEAM 26 1:29.601 +0.756 161.6 26 7 5 Oliver OAKES MOTOPARK ACADEMY 27 1:29.706 +0.861 161.4 29 8 34 Nelson PANCIATICI BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING 26 1:29.721 +0.876 161.4 27 9 3 Jon LANCASTER SG DRIVERS PROJECT 23 1:29.815 +0.970 161.3 27 10 29 Mihai MARINESCU DISTRICT RACING 15 1:29.841 +0.996 161.2 25 11 11 Fabio LEIMER JENZER MOTORSPORT 22 1:30.012 +1.167 160.9 23 12 25 Henki WALDSCHMIDT PREMA POWERTEAM 26 1:30.102 +1.257 160.7 27 13 16 Mika MÄKI EPSILON RED BULL TEAM 25 1:30.185 +1.340 160.6 27 14 19 Jaime ALGUERSUARI EPSILON RED BULL TEAM 26 1:30.186 +1.341 160.6 27 15 15 Stefano COLETTI EPSILON EUSKADI 14 1:30.253 +1.408 160.5 26 16 10 Roberto MERHI JENZER MOTORSPORT 21 1:30.258 +1.413 160.5 26 17 26 Cesar RAMOS BVM MINARDI TEAM 26 1:30.333 +1.488 160.3 28 18 8 Tobias HEGEWALD MOTORSPORT ARENA 24 1:30.425 +1.580 160.2 24 19 24 Martin PLOWMAN PREMA POWERTEAM 24 1:30.531 +1.686 160.0 28 20 12 Miquel JULIÀ EPSILON EUSKADI 22 1:30.586 +1.741 159.9 23 21 32 Tiago PETIZ OMICRON RACING 26 1:30.718 +1.873 159.6 27 22 35 Anton NEBILTSKIY SL FORMULA 29 1:30.738 +1.893 159.6 29 23 27 Adrian QUAIFE-HOBBS BVM MINARDI TEAM 14 1:30.821 +1.976 159.5 26 24 23 Andrea CALDARELLI PREMA POWERTEAM 27 1:30.825 +1.980 159.5 27 25 21 Daniele ZAMPIERI CRAM COMPETITION 25 1:30.952 +2.107 159.2 25 26 28 Aleix ALCARAZ DISTRICT RACING 25 1:31.017 +2.172 159.1 26 27 30 Facundo CROVO OMICRON RACING 22 1:31.027 +2.182 159.1 23 28 22 Federico MUGGIA CRAM COMPETITION 29 1:31.129 +2.284 158.9 29 29 38 Joe GHANEM CARLIN MOTORSPORT 28 1:31.362 +2.517 158.5 29 30 33 Stephane RICHELMI BOUTSEN ENERGY RACING 22 1:31.481 +2.636 158.3 22 31 36 Pedro NUNES SL FORMULA 8 1:32.195 +3.350 157.1 18 32 31 Francesc MORENO OMICRON RACING 21 1:32.233 +3.388 157.0 23 33 14 Pablo MONTILLA EPSILON EUSKADI 17 1:32.766 +3.921 156.1 22 34 37 Khalil BESCHIR CARLIN MOTORSPORT 11 1:33.413 +4.568 155.0 12
