Formula Master's official two-day test concluded in Estoril today with Fabio Leimer once again claiming the fastest time of the day.
Cooler morning temperatures (16°c) allowed lap times to drop by almost half a second compared to yesterday, enabling the Jenzer Motorsport driver to set the quickest lap with a time of 1:31.843.
Japan's Yuhi Sekiguchi showed his speed by setting the second fastest time of the morning (1:31.903) although the Euronova Racing driver explained that a quick lap time was not on the team's agenda for this test.
"We focused on setting the car up for races rather than pure speed," said Sekiguchi. "It's nice to set a fast time like this morning but we chose to spend more time working on the car using old tyres, which reflected on our lap times yesterday. It's still good to know that we have the pace though."
Iris Project's Michael Ammermueller followed in third place with a best time of 1:32.042.
With afternoon weather conditions rising to 30°c, lap times increased although Switzerland's Leimer still set the fastest time with a lap of 1:32.597. Trident Racing's Kasper Andersen's best lap of 1:32.805 earned him second place whilst Daniel Mancinelli took third place for Alan Racing (1:32.891).
Cram Competition team-mates Arturo Llobell and Pablo Sanchez Lopez showed a strong combined performance once more with both drivers posting top-ten times throughout the day.
Formula Master's official testing continues later this month at Magny-Cours, France (22-23 April 2008), followed by Valencia, Spain, in May.
Formula Master - Estoril official testing
Day Two: morning - top eight
1. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:31.843
2. Yuhi Sekiguchi (JAP), Euronova Racing, 1:31.903
3. Michael Ammermueller (GER), Iris Project, 1:32.042
4. Chris van der Drift (NED), J.D. Motorsport, 1:32.096
5. Pablo Sanchez Lopez (MEX), Cram Competition, 1:32.139
6. Kasper Andersen (DEN), Trident Racing, 1:32.152
7. Josef Kral (CZH), Team JVA, 1:32.529
8. Luca Persiani (ITA), Scuderia Famá, 1:32.543
Formula Master - Estoril official testing
Day Two: afternoon - top eight
1. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:32.597
2. Kasper Andersen (DEN), Trident Racing, 1:32.805
3. Daniel Mancinelli (ITA), Alan Racing, 1:32.891
4. Luca Persiani (ITA), Scuderia Famá, 1:33.023
5. Filip Salaquarda (CZH), ISR, 1:33.072
6. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), J.D. Motorsport, 1:33.181
7. Pablo Sanchez Lopez (MEX), Cram Competition, 1:33.258
8. Arturo Llobell (ESP), Cram Competition, 1:33.324
Formula Master - Estoril official testing
Day Two: overall
1. Fabio Leimer (SUI), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:31.843
2. Yuhi Sekiguchi (JAP), Euronova Racing, 1:31.903
3. Michael Ammermueller (GER), Iris Project, 1:32.042
4. Chris van der Drift (NED), J.D. Motorsport, 1:32.096
5. Pablo Sanchez Lopez (MEX), Cram Competition, 1:32.139
6. Kasper Andersen (DEN), Trident Racing, 1:32.152
7. Josef Kral (CZH), Team JVA, 1:32.529
8. Luca Persiani (ITA), Scuderia Famá, 1:32.543
9. Carlos Iaconelli (BRA), Pro Motorsport, 1:32.546
10. Arturo Llobell (ESP), Cram Competition, 1:32.623
11. Tim Sandtler (GER), ISR, 1:32.736
12. Michael Meadows (GBR), Euronova Racing, 1:32.798
13. Alberto Costa (ITA), Cram Competition, 1:32.868
14. Daniel Mancinelli (ITA), Alan Racing, 1:33.199
15. Vladimir Arabadzhiev (BUL), J.D. Motorsport, 1:32.963
16. Fabrizio Crestani (ITA), Euronova Racing, 1:33.003
17. Filip Salaquarda (CZH), ISR, 1:33.038
18. Dominik Schraml (GER), Alan Racing, 1:33.099
19. Sergey Afanasiev (RUS), J.D. Motorsport, 1:33.121
20. Federico Rossi (ITA), Euronova Racing, 1:33.415
21. Frankie Provenzano (ITA), ADM Motorsport, 1:33.738
22. Michele Caliendo (ITA), ADM Motorsport, 1:33.842
23. Matei Mihaescu (ROM), Jenzer Motorsport, 1:34.787
Formula Master's inaugural season in 2007 delivered some of the year's best racing with the Series' concept of offering young, aspiring drivers the chance to establish themselves on an international stage proving a great success already.
2007 statistics
FIA WTCC partner series Eight events - 16 races Eight European destinations 40 drivers - 19 countries represented 30 cars on average for each event 18 million TV viewers on Eurosport 16 hours LIVE coverage on Eurosport 367,000 attending spectators Inaugural race at Valencia, Spain on 19 May 2007 Inaugural Champion Jérôme D'Ambrosio (BEL), Cram Competition Inaugural race winner Salvatore Gatto (ITA), Alan Racing Youngest race winner Pablo Sanchez Lopez (MEX), Alan Racing Eight different race winners Six different pole setters 16 different drivers have led a race 15 different drivers have stepped onto the Formula Master podium 30 drivers in the points N.Technology's Formula Master race car features a Magneti Marelli hydraulic gearbox control system with gearbox and clutch wheel paddle control. With advanced aerodynamics, it weighs just 550kg including the driver and runs on control tyres by Yokohama.
The first race car in the world to secure 2008 FIA F3 homologation, the Formula Master single-seater has generated excitement from all sectors thanks to its dynamic styling, light-weight body and powerful Honda K20A engine.
