Michaël Rossi leads the way

Silverstone Collective Testing

The new Méganes had their first outing at Silverstone yesterday. In a highly competitive day of testing, each of the Eurocup Mégane Trophy's main contenders held the lead at some point.

Michaël Rossi (TDS) ultimately clocked the fastest time, but Maxime Martin (Boutsen Energy Racing), Dimitri Enjalbert (Tech 1 Racing) and the rest were not far behind, and we look set for a close-fought weekend of racing.

The Eurocup Mégane Trophy drivers had two hours' collective testing in which to adapt their setups to a track that allies fast bends with sections that really test a driver's skill. Younger drivers such as Michaël Rossi and Dimitri Enjalbert were faced with the added challenge of getting to grips with a track that is totally new to them.

The lead changed hands almost every lap at the start of the session. Initial leader Bernhard Ten Brinke (Equipe Verschuur) was soon outdone by Michaël Rossi, who clocked the day's first serious time in 1'58''578.

Virtually all of Eurocup Mégane Trophy's leading names would hold the lead at one time or another. Matthieu Chéruy (Tech 1 Racing) displaced Rossi from top spot, before Jonathan Hirschi (Tech 1 Racing) overtook him in turn. Dimitri Enjalbert and Maxime Martin then each took the lead, before, at the very end of the first session, Enjalbert finally opened up a significant gap with a lap clocked at 1'55''089. Bernhard Ten Brinke, Maxime Martin, Michaël Rossi and Ralph Meichtry were his nearest rivals.

The second session was to be just as competitive. Fabrice Walfish took the initial lead. Thereafter, however, many drivers opted for long runs in preparation for the weekend's two races.

Gradually, the pace quickened and the lead began to change hands regularly again. Dimitri Enjalbert once again took first position, ahead of Matthieu Chéruy, Maxime Martin and Michaël Rossi, but he was still some way short of his morning time.

The most significant improvements came at the end of the session. Michaël Rossi went on the offensive, improving his time first to 1'54''889, then to 1'54''684, as he continued the kind of form that has propelled him to the top of the Eurocup Mégane Trophy overall standings. His time was to remain the quickest of this closely contested session, with Maxime Martin and Dimitri Enjalbert just behind and the first ten drivers separated by less than a second. Hoevert Vos (Equipe Verschuur), meanwhile, lived up to his status as the leading driver in the Gentlemen's standings.

Michaël Rossi: "It's a great circuit. It's quick at the start and technically demanding at the end, so you have to find the right balance in your setup. The gaps between all the drivers are very small. We will really have to focus in qualifying, as the slightest error could be the difference between finishing in first place and finishing fifth or sixth. The battle for pole position is going to be really tight."

Maxime Martin: "We tried out different things during these sessions, which have been very beneficial for everyone. I think we've found a setup that will work both for qualifying and for the races. I was expecting long straight sections, but that's not the case at all. It's relentless. The pace is really something. The races should be a good watch."

Dimitri Enjalbert: "All in all, we're quite satisfied. We got into the swing of things straight away. I really like this circuit. The average speed is incredible - nearly 160kph. I need points this weekend to make up ground on Rossi."

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS  1 1 Dimitri ENJALBERT Tech 1 Racing 1 23 1:55.089 - 160.8 24   2 7 Bernhard TEN BRINKE Equipe Verschuur 1 21 1:55.591 +0.502 160.1 23   3 8 Maxime MARTIN Boutsen Energy Racing 20 1:55.599 +0.510 160.1 22   4 12 Michaël ROSSI TDS 23 1:55.638 +0.549 160.0 23   5 10 Ralph MEICHTRY Race Performance 21 1:55.654 +0.565 160.0 23   6 2 Matthieu CHERUY Tech 1 Racing 1 21 1:56.368 +1.279 159.0 22   7 3 Jonathan HIRSCHI Tech 1 Racing 2 22 1:56.409 +1.320 159.0 23   8 24 Fabrice WALFISCH Oregon Team 1 22 1:57.036 +1.947 158.1 22   9 15 Sébastien DHOUAILLY Team Lompech Sport 19 1:57.142 +2.053 158.0 22   10 11 Andreas MAYERL Race Performance 19 1:57.899 +2.810 156.9 20   11 14 Jean - Philippe MADONIA TDS 20 1:57.951 +2.862 156.9 22   12 25 Giuseppe TERMINE Oregon Team 1 22 1:58.256 +3.167 156.5 23   13 9 David DERMONT Boutsen Energy Racing 17 1:59.329 +4.240 155.1 21   14 20 Wim BEELEN Equipe Verschuur 2 8 1:59.602 +4.513 154.7 9   15 4 Bernard DELHEZ Tech 1 Racing 2 23 1:59.676 +4.587 154.6 23   16 21 Hoevert VOS Equipe Verschuur 2 21 1:59.826 +4.737 154.4 22   17 6 Harrie KOLEN Equipe Verschuur 1 19 2:00.420 +5.331 153.7 25   18 17 Pierre HIRSCHI Team Lompech Sport 8 2:00.421 +5.332 153.7 23   19 73 Angelo BAIGUERA Oregon Team 1 20 2:02.584 +7.495 150.9 23   20 16 Jean - Charles MIGINIAC Team Lompech Sport 20 2:03.394 +8.305 150.0 20   21 18 Rafael UNZURRUNZAGA Blue Jumeirah Team 23 2:07.896 +12.807 144.7 23  

POS NUMBER DRIVER TEAM LAP TIME GAP_FIRST KPH LAPS  1 12 Michaël ROSSI TDS 20 1:54.684 - 161.3 22   2 8 Maxime MARTIN Boutsen Energy Racing 18 1:54.899 +0.215 161.0 20   3 1 Dimitri ENJALBERT Tech 1 Racing 1 21 1:55.003 +0.319 160.9 24   4 15 Sébastien DHOUAILLY Team Lompech Sport 16 1:55.524 +0.840 160.2 24   5 3 Jonathan HIRSCHI Tech 1 Racing 2 20 1:55.525 +0.841 160.2 23   6 2 Matthieu CHERUY Tech 1 Racing 1 23 1:55.633 +0.949 160.0 25   7 10 Ralph MEICHTRY Race Performance 23 1:55.812 +1.128 159.8 23   8 24 Fabrice WALFISCH Oregon Team 1 19 1:56.110 +1.426 159.4 23   9 7 Bernhard TEN BRINKE Equipe Verschuur 1 20 1:56.692 +2.008 158.6 24   10 21 Hoevert VOS Equipe Verschuur 2 18 1:57.232 +2.548 157.8 21   11 14 Jean - Philippe MADONIA TDS 23 1:57.408 +2.724 157.6 24   12 9 David DERMONT Boutsen Energy Racing 21 1:57.721 +3.037 157.2 23   13 25 Giuseppe TERMINE Oregon Team 1 22 1:57.777 +3.093 157.1 23   14 11 Andreas MAYERL Race Performance 20 1:57.783 +3.099 157.1 23   15 20 Wim BEELEN Equipe Verschuur 2 12 1:57.814 +3.130 157.1 26   16 4 Bernard DELHEZ Tech 1 Racing 2 13 1:58.014 +3.330 156.8 24   17 6 Harrie KOLEN Equipe Verschuur 1 21 1:59.388 +4.704 155.0 21   18 17 Pierre HIRSCHI Team Lompech Sport 19 2:00.535 +5.851 153.5 24   19 73 Angelo BAIGUERA Oregon Team 1 12 2:01.381 +6.697 152.4 18   20 18 Rafael UNZURRUNZAGA Blue Jumeirah Team 24 2:03.097 +8.413 150.3 24   21 16 Jean - Charles MIGINIAC Team Lompech Sport 20 2:07.455 +12.771 145.2 21