The first ever meeting held around a NASCAR oval in Europe began on Friday 6 July at Tours Speedway with the various set-up procedures and free practice. Indeed, it has been a busy first day for the EURO-RACECAR NASCAR Touring Series drivers in which history will remember Ander Vilarino and Javier Villa setting the fastest laps.
Although some drivers had already sampled an oval during collective testing at Noeux-les-Mines last month, the opening day at Tours Speedway provided a first competitive outing for the drivers. Not only pleasantly surprised by the track, they also highlighted the good work completed to implement such a project, which has been organised under the auspices of the FFSA. The only notable improvement required concerns the circuit’s mid-corner bumps, something that organisers have already promised to do all they can to address in time for next year.
As usual, Ander Vilarino (#2 TFT-Banco Santander) was the first to aim a warning shot at his all-star rivals. The Spaniard, who has won four of the six races contested this season, lapped the 600-metre circuit in a best time of 17.463secs (123.690km/h) during the first free practice session.
That time would have been good enough for third place in a second session dominated by Javier Villa (#64 Gonneau Racing) who recorded a best lap of 17.321secs (124.704km/h). The EURO-RACECAR championship leader’s first session was not without problems though after he kissed the wall at Turn 1. Despite that disappointment, Vilarino was still delighted with how his day had gone.
“It's really great to drive using rules implemented by NASCAR,” he said. “The presence of US officials gave me even more motivation to do well. It was a great honour for George Silbermann (Vice President of NASCAR Weekly and Touring) to come to me and say that he had followed my early season. It's just a shame to have hit the wall. As they say in the US, “The wall always wins!”
Ben Kennedy (#96 TFT), distinguished guest for this unprecedented event and great grandson of Bill France Sr., was equally enthusiastic. “It's a big challenge for me this weekend because I have discovered a whole new track, a new car and new tyres,” he said. “I am very excited to be participating in this event because it is very close between the drivers and there will be real competition on the track. The circuit is very interesting and everyone at EURO-RACECAR has done a great job. From the quality of the garages to the paddock atmosphere, it's incredible. I’m looking forward to tomorrow!”
Although unable to successfully infiltrate the top three, Ben promised to return even stronger, much like Yvan Muller (#100 Still Racing-Convergence) who was making his first appearance in the series.
In the Open Division, Frederic Johais (#33 OverDrive) – whose record has seen him move to the Guest category – headed Philippe Marie (#88 Orhès Competition) and Jerome Laurin (#55 Pole Position) in session one before Joseph Cozella (#14 Still Racing) went faster in the second. Cozella beat Vincent Gonneau (#15 Gonneau Racing) and Spanish rookie Zihara Esteban (#42 Autosport 42), the latter confirming his car’s potential after Carole Perrin had finished third using the same machine in first practice.
